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Ahmedabad has been awarded the right to host the 2029 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Senior World Championships, following a decision by the federation’s Executive Board in Ningbo, China, on October 25, 2026. The award gives India the senior world event for the first time and places Gujarat on the calendar for one of weightlifting’s leading international competitions.
The IWF’s announcement confirmed Ahmedabad as the venue for the 2029 senior World Championships, with Moscow selected to host the 2030 edition. Media reports said India’s bid faced competition from Russia and Venezuela before the Executive Board made its decision.
The IWF described the awards as an important step in consolidating its international competition calendar. General Secretary José Quiñones welcomed the bids and noted that India, Kosovo and Venezuela would each stage an IWF world event for the first time. The decision is part of a wider set of allocations covering four championships between 2028 and 2030.
Alongside Ahmedabad’s 2029 senior event, the IWF awarded the 2028 World Youth Championships to Prishtina, Kosovo, and the 2028 World Junior Championships to Caracas, Venezuela. Moscow will stage the senior World Championships in 2030.
The four awards create a multi-year roadmap for the federation’s major events. The host cities span Asia, Europe and South America, and the IWF said the outcome reflects the sport’s expanding international reach. The federation had opened the bidding process in September 2026, inviting member federations to submit proposals for the 2028 youth and junior competitions and the 2029 senior championships.
The 2029 award follows recent international weightlifting competitions in Gujarat. Ahmedabad hosted the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in 2025, while Gujarat staged the Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships in 2026. The new world-level event builds on that recent hosting experience and will require planning across venue operations, athlete services, technical delivery and international federation requirements.
For Indian weightlifting, staging the senior World Championships at home could offer local athletes, coaches and officials a major opportunity to experience an elite global competition in their own country. The event will also place the host city under international attention, although details such as competition dates, venue arrangements and the organising structure were not included in the IWF’s initial announcement.
Hosting rights are significant because world championships bring together leading lifters from IWF member federations and demand a high standard of competition management. The award also signals confidence in India’s ability to organise a major event under the international federation’s framework. The IWF’s public statement focused on the successful bids and the calendar, while Indian media reports highlighted the importance of the event for the country’s weightlifting programme.
Reports have also described the 2029 championship as relevant to India’s preparations for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which the country is scheduled to host. The precise qualification arrangements and event schedule should be confirmed through the relevant organisers as further details are released.
The next stage will be operational planning by the IWF and Indian organisers. The initial announcement establishes Ahmedabad as host city, but it does not yet set out the exact competition dates, venue, ticketing information or detailed qualification pathway. Those details are likely to be important for athletes, national federations and spectators as preparations advance.
For now, the award is a clear milestone for Indian weightlifting: Ahmedabad has secured the 2029 senior World Championships, and India will join the list of countries to have staged the IWF’s flagship senior competition.
