Kalinga Stadium awaits Asian Athletics Championship glory

Bhubaneswar: The State Government is leaving no stone unturned to make a super spectacle of the coveted 22nd Asian Athletics Championship, which it will be hosting from July 6 to 9.

Odisha achieved a rare distinction with the State capital being only the third Indian city to host the Continent’s premier track and field event after New Delhi (1989) and Pune (2013). According to Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera, they were going all-out to showcase the State’s administrative acumen during the event,

which is also a qualifying event for the IAAF World Athletics Championships to be held in London later in the year. Over 1000 athletes from across 45 countries will participate in the prestigious meet where the winners will get a direct berth in the Worlds.

In keeping pace with the requirements, the government machinery has gone on an overdrive with regard to infrastructural works so that it could beat the deadline comfortably. A first of sort has been in preparing a state-of-art Kalinga Stadium, which will be the nerve-centre during the Championship.

In a befitting commemoration of its organisational skills, the State Olympic Association put together a special film highlighting the planning, monitoring, and supervision of the Asian Athletics Championship.

Lending a celebrity morale-booster was the presence of three of India’s biggest sportspersons, including PT Usha, Anju Bobby George and Shiny Wilson. AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said the city was prepared to host the best of Asian meets.