New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- A conversation with Carl Lewis just flows - effortlessly as he speaks with an infectious energy. Even after more than two decades since his retirement from international athletics, the legend's aura remains intact. A nine-time Olympic gold medallist, Lewis conquered the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and, of course, the long jump. Sharp, direct, and animated even in the early hours on Friday, he showed no trace of fatigue despite arriving from the United States late on Thursday evening. He is on a trip to India as brand ambassador for Vedanta Delhi half marathon. From reminiscing about his glory days of record-breaking jumps and sprints to opening up on his fierce rivalry with Mike Powell, Lewis also spoke about the state of track and field today. In his own words, "From a financial standpoint and in terms of global relevance, the sport has unfortunately gone backwards." Excerpts: It was easy, coming from Houston, just one stop. I have been to India before, about 10 times. Access. You have to give kids access. You're going to have to go into and create programmes. In the US, we have AAU programmes for kids - 18 and under - all over the country. Then we have university programmes, and then we go to the next level. They're (India) going to have to put together programmes, whether it's in schools, clubs, universities, they're going to have to put all those systems together to give the talent access to opportunity. They're going to have to invest in that. India is a huge country with a tremendous number of people. If they all had an opportunity, just think of the success. I wouldn't say that. I mean, I think it's really interesting because, unfortunately, in a lot of ways, athletics is going backwards as Asia is going forward. So, in some ways, Asia is kind of past it. It's great to see events in these areas. I mean, I came to India to compete in Pune in 1989. So, they've had events for a long time. Now it's just a commitment to having excellence. The talent is here. The opportunity is here. They just need the infrastructure that creates the access. Well, from a financial standpoint and a global relevance, it really is, unfortunately. It has been for the last 15 years. I'm a huge supporter of that event. The concept is a good. I admire Michael for coming out and doing something different, trying to ignite the sport. I'm a little frustrated with the way they've responded to him because, you know, he's had some challenges. But instead of rallying behind him, we're like, 'ha-ha', saw you. Of course, he was able to pay the athletes, which I think was incredible. But what we're talking about is, 'oh, they only got half the money they were promised.' It's still more than any Diamond League event. But we're not saying, oh, the Diamond League doesn't pay very much. See, this is the hypocrisy in our sport. We should be celebrating and honouring people like Michael for trying to help the athletes instead of attacking them. Well, I'm not a fan of the Diamond League, honestly. I think that it's hurt our sport. Okay. The problem isn't, you know, the World Athletics is two organisations. It's a group of people. There is a group within that group that are forward-thinking, that want to make the sport better, that want to make it professional, that want to do everything to advance our sport. But unfortunately, the majority of them want an amateur sport again. Okay. So even within World Athletics, there is a fight of moving forward and going backwards. The standout for me was Noah (Lyles) winning his fourth 200m title. Our relay team finished, they didn't drop the stick (laughs). I thought Sydney (McLaughlin) was fabulous. And I love Melissa Jefferson. I think she's a great face for the sport. It's too hard. It's too hard technically. The long jump is so technical and tough that if you're not a great long jumper, drugs won't even help you. Nothing will help you. If you look at all the jumpers that jumped far in the 90s, 80s, the last three steps... not one person in the world is doing it now. What they've done is that they've eliminated our era. They don't even talk about our era anymore. Even World Athletics was trying to help them by changing the board. I've been coaching now for 11 years. And only one person has ever called me to ask me about the long jump. They just want to forget it. Its too hard. They think 'I am going to get the same medal Carl Lewis gets even though I am jumping I wouldn't be on the podium when he jumped but I will still medal.' And they don't want to put the best athletes. If you're a sprinter, they all stop. All of the jumpers and sprinters stop. A Because it's easy. Sprints are easy compared to the long jump. And you don't see Carl Lewis doing a sprint in a long jump. It's over. And that was the magic of those days. They don't get it now. It will never happen. Not with this generation. In 1996, I jumped 8.5m. I was 35. At the 2008 Olympics, '12, '16, '21 were all less than 8.5m. In Paris it was close to 8.5m (Tentoglou Miltiadis, 8.48m). So that's the kind of mark where you get all the medals right now. I would have won four out of that...My God, that's amazing. Technology has helped with shoes and everything else. And our event is going to wear a bit. Yeah, I think, well, my excitement is what the event stands for. Breaking barriers, and I've had friends that have run marathons and what a transformation it's done for their life. Also, after 20 years, the growth of it has just been incredible....