‘The world comes to you’: Anand Mahindra hails Odisha’s ‘flywheel’ as state wins 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships bid

Further, he emphasised that Odisha has effectively set this “flywheel” in motion. Over the past decade, the state has emerged as a major hub for sports in India, hosting multiple international competitions and investing heavily in world-class venues and training facilities.

“The lesson is simple. You don’t bid for global events. You build ecosystems, and the world comes to you,” the business tycoon wrote.

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Thank you Odisha, and Bhubaneswar, for making us proud by being selected as host of the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships

But we recognise that this isn’t an isolated achievement.

It’s a textbook case of strategy executed over time.

Michael Porter, the Guru of… https://t.co/5l2J7zvmVw pic.twitter.com/DZDhzZ4Qcp

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 25, 2026

The post quickly gained traction, drawing a range of reactions. “What this really shows is that sustained public-private partnership can turn a regional hub into a national sports engine, creating jobs and a pipeline for athletes long before the 2028 spotlight,” a user wrote.

“Big wins like this look sudden, but they are built quietly over the years. Odisha stayed consistent with sports investment when others treated it as one-off spending,” another user commented. “Odisha didn’t just win a bid — they built a true sporting cluster exactly as Porter described. From the world’s largest hockey stadium to South Asia’s biggest indoor athletics arena and multiple HPCs, the flywheel is now unstoppable,” a third user reacted.

The World Athletics Indoor Championships 2028 will be held in Kalinga Indoor Athletics Stadium. With a 200-meter synthetic track, 80m+20m running track, and designated spots for pole vault, long jump, shot put and triple jump, the Stadidum can seat 1,700 people, making it the largest indoor athletics stadium in South Asia.