New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marked the beginning of a track-and-field revolution in India. The historic javelin throw triggered a massive shift in the country’s sporting ecosystem. From budding sports enthusiasts to the government, everyone started looking at athletics from a different prism. As interest grew, involvement increased at every level.

In a cricket-crazy nation, Neeraj’s success made a massive impact on children, who were drawn towards athletics, particularly javelin throw, and inspired a new generation of athletes to take up the sport. Sports authorities also capitalised on the momentum and took significant steps at the grassroots and operational levels to boost participation. The

However, the ongoing Khelo India University Games in Jaipur, Rajasthan, have raised concerns about the preparations and planning and served as a harsh reminder to the authorities that there is still a lot of work to do. For a nation that recently celebrated the historic occasion of securing the hosting rights of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, the low attendance of athletes at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) flagship event is a source of deep embarrassment.

As per a report in nnis Sports, the Khelo India University Games have been hit by a DNS (Did not start) storm, with several athletes not showing up for their respective sporting disciplines for various reasons.

Just a day after, only three athletes each showed up in the women’s and men’s 200m final, young athlete Ruchit Mori, astonishingly, ran alone in the men’s 400m hurdles as none of his competitors showed up for the event. With empty lanes next to him, Mori ran solo in a medalless race.

Low turnouts and the DNS crisis at KIUG 2025 are a deja vu moment for the authorities from senior nationals.

Mori is not the only athlete to run alone in an event. The KIUG 2025 got off to a rocky start as Manisha from Haryana had no competitors on Day 1. She lined up for the women’s 400m final alone, while 4 others were marked DNS.

Why are athletes not showing up?

The off-season timing for athletics might be a big reason behind the poor turnout. As the KIUG 2025 falls during the athletics off-season, the majority of the athletes skip the event, leading to a slim field of participants. The ongoing event should serve as a wake-up call for the authorities to put more focus on better planning and scheduling.

Another reason behind the dismal attendance may be the strong presence of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) teams at the event. Athletes’ lack of knowledge at such a young level about what to take and what to avoid could be a big fear factor for the doping tests.

One more factor could be the denials of permission to compete for the newly employed athletes, who are forced to sit out of the events despite having the sports quota.

Empty lanes, solo runs and walkovers at KIUG 2025 have raised serious questions about the planning, scheduling and university-level sports ecosystem.

More alarmingly, it raises concern over the credibility of the Games and subsequently the developement at the grassroots level.