The 22nd Asian Athletics Championships is all set to start from tomorrow, giving Indian Athletes a chance to ply their trade in home conditions and qualify for IAAF World Championships in London.
The last time India hosted this event was in 2013 when the city of Pune welcomed athletes from all around Asia.
Earlier in 1993, Delhi had hosted the event as well.
95 athletes from India would be vying for top honours in the Championships, with over 800 participants from 45 different countries gracing the event.
Bhubhaneshwar’s Kalinga Stadium would be hosting the event after Ranchi pulled out at the last moment, leaving Bhubaneshwar with just 90 days to prepare for the Asia wide event.
Kalinga stadium boasts of a state of the art infrastructure, with synthetic flooring and newly lit floodlights.
Tomorrow marks a historic day for #Odisha. The #AAC2017 will get going, signaling state’s emergence as a strong force in global sports arena pic.twitter.com/fOINjIMsbl
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) July 4, 2017
There are 42 events line up, 21 for men and 21 for women. The opening ceremony is scheduled for July 6.
Here is India’s line up for the event
Men’s contingent- Amiya Kumar Mallick (100m/200m) , Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob and Arokia Rajiv ( 400m ), Jinson Johnson, Vishambhar Keolkar (800m ), Ajay Kumar Saroj, Siddhantha Adhikari ( 1500m ), G Lakshmanan, Murli Kumar Gavit ( 5000m ), G Lakshmanan, Gopi Thonakal, Kalidas Hirave ( 10,000m ), Naveen Kumar, Durga Bahadur Budha ( 3000m steeplechase ), Siddhant Thingalaya, Prem Kumar ( 110m hurdles ), Jabir MP, Santhosh Kumar T, Durgesh Kumar Pal (400m hurdles ), S Siva ( pole vault ), Chethan B, Ajay Kumar ( high jump ), Ankit Sharma, Samsheer SE, Siddharth Mohan Naik ( long jump ), Arpinder Singh and Karthik U ( triple jump ), Tajinder Pal Toor, Jasdeep Singh Dhillon, Omprakash Singh Karhana ( shot put ), Vikas Gowda, Dharamraj Yadav, Kirpal Singh ( discus throw ), Niraj Kumar ( hammer throw ), Neeraj Chopra, Davinder Singh Kang, Abhishek Singh ( javelin throw ), Jagtar Singh, Abhishek Shetty ( decathlon ), Amiya Kumar Mallick, Jyotishankar Debnath, Anuroop John, VK Elakkiya Dasan, Pravin Muthukumaran, Chintha Sudhakar ( 4x100m relay ), Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jaco, Arokia Rajiv, Sachi Roby, Mohan Kumar, Kunju Muhammed ( 4x400m relay ).
Women’s contingent- Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda ( 100m/200m ), Nirmala, MR Poovamma, Jisna Mathew ( 400m ), Tintu Luka, Archana Adhav, Lili Das ( 800m ), Monika Choudhary ( 1500m ), L Suriya, Sanjivani Jadhav ( 5000m ), L Suriya, Sanjivani Jadhav and Meenu ( 10,000m )
Sudha Singh, Parul Chaudhary ( 3000m steeplechase ), Nayana James ( 100m hurdles ) Anu R, Jauna Murmu, Arpitha M ( 400m hurdles ), KM Sangeeta ( pole vault), Sahana Kumari, Swapna Barman ( high jump ), Nayana James, Neena V, G Karthika ( long jump ), Sheena NV, Joyline Murali Lobo ( triple jump ), Manpreet Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur, Anamika Das ( shot put ), Kamalpreeet Kaur Bal, Seema Punia, Himani Singh ( discus throw ), Sarita R Singh, Gunjan Singh ( hammer throw ), Annu Rani, Poonam Rani Singh, Suman Devi ( javelin throw ), Swapna Barman, Purnima Hembram, Liksy Joseph ( heptathlon ), Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, Merlin Joseph, Reena George, Ruma Sarkar, Himashree Roy ( 4x100m relay ), Nirmala, Poovamma, Jisna Mathew, Vijayakumari GK, Sarita Ben Gayakwad, Debashree Mazumdar (4x400m relay ).
(Player list obtained from TOI)
Winners from this event will get a direct entry into the IAAF World Championships in London.
The event will be held from July 5-9 and it will be aired on Doordashan.
