2013 Asian Athletics Championships

2013 Asian Championships
Dates3–7 July
Host cityIndia Pune, India
VenueShiv Chhatrapati Stadium
Events42
Participation522 athletes from
42 nations

The 2013 Asian Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the biennial athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune, India between 3–7 July.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Around 522 athletes from 42 nations competed at the event. It was the first time since 1989 that India had hosted the championships.[7]

Prior to the competition, the election of the Asian Athletics Association president was convened in Pune. Qatar's Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamad (an IAAF vice-president) defeated the incumbent, Suresh Kalmadi of India, by a margin of 20 votes to 18.[8] Kalmadi, on bail for corruption charges stemming from the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, did not attend the championships.[9] The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, declared the event open at the championships opening ceremony

China, the traditional regional leader at the competition, easily took the top spot in the medal rankings with sixteen gold medals and 27 medals in total. This maintained its streak as the best nation of the tournament – a run dating back to the 1983 edition. Second-placed Bahrain took five golds and fifteen medals overall (although Ali Khamis Khamis, the 400 metres runner-up, was their only native-born medallist).[10] Japan placed third in the medal rankings with four golds and had the second greatest overall haul with 20 medals. In fifth place the hosts India had the next biggest haul, with 17 medals in total, although Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan had a greater number of gold medals.

The overall quality of the competition was reduced as several top Asian athletes were absent. Mutaz Essa Barshim was the only Asian 2012 Olympic medallist who intended to participate, but he withdrew due to a back injury.[9] Thirteen champions from 2011 were present and six of them (Su Bingtian, Yousef Masrahi, Dejene Regassa, Shitaye Eshete, Satomi Kubokura, and Wassanee Winatho) successfully defended their title.

A total of eight championships records were bettered at the competition: Shitaye Eshete broke the longest-standing of these by winning the women's 10,000 metres in 32:17.29 minutes, breaking Zhong Huandi's time from 1989. The organisers used a performance-based points system to assign the titles of best athlete at the championships: Saudi 400 metres champion Yousef Masrahi was the best male with 1172 points while Bahrain's steeplechase winner Ruth Jebet was the best female with 1142 points.[11]

The Athletics Federation of India withdrew an unnamed female shot putter from their squad for a failed doping test one day before the opening of the championships.[12]

  1. ^ Competition Calendar Archived 2013-07-07 at the Wayback Machine. Athletics Asia. Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  2. ^ Four more gold medals and two championship records for China at Asian Champs. IAAF (2013-07-07). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  3. ^ Chinese sprinters take away 100m titles at Asian Championships. IAAF (2013-07-04). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  4. ^ Eshete sets 10,000m championship record at Asian Championships. IAAF (2013-07-04). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  5. ^ Two championship records while China's hurdles legacy continues at the Asian Championships. IAAF (2013-07-06). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  6. ^ Desalegn lands distance double at Asian Championships. IAAF (2013-07-07). Retrieved on 2013-07-13.
  7. ^ Fourteen Asian athletes coming to defend their title at Pune Archived 2013-07-04 at the Wayback Machine. Asian Athletics. Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  8. ^ Dahlan ousts Kalmadi as Asian athletics chief. Gulf Times (2013-07-01). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  9. ^ a b Kalmadi gives it a miss - Asian Track and Field Championships is shorn of big names. The Calcutta Telegraph (2013-07-03). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  10. ^ Brahme, Chinmay (2013-07-06). Without formal coaching Bahrain’s teen star sprints his way to silver. Indian Express. Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  11. ^ Championship & Best Athletes[permanent dead link‍]. Athletics Federation of India. Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
  12. ^ Doping hits Indian athletics ahead of Asian Championships. Times of India (2013-07-05). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.