(From left) Qatari athlete Mutaz Barshim, QAF president Major General Dahlan al-Hamad, and QAF Head of Technical Committee & Competition and Director for the 7th Asian Indoors Abdel Hakeem al-Ameri at a press conference yesterday. PICTURE: Jayaram

By Sports Reporter/Doha


The coming year is going to be a big year for sports, for track and field at least. In March 2016, the city of Portland hosts the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and four months later, in August, is the biggest quadrennial extravaganza, the Olympic Games in Rio.
But there will be a precursor to the two big events, the 7th edition of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, which will be hosted by Qatar at the Aspire Dome from February 19 to 21. This is the second time Doha is hosting the prestigious event—the last one was in 2008.
Asian Athletics Association (AAA) and Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) President, Major General Dahlan al-Hamad, revealed that approximately 450 athletes from 36 nations will be competing in the indoor meet, among them Qatari high jump icon and  Olympic bronze medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim.
“We at Qatar Athletics Federation feel very happy and proud to host yet again this prestigious event in Doha. This is another high class competition in line with our nation’s Vision 2030 and once more we will set high standards in organising such an important sporting event. We aim to continue building a lasting legacy as ideal organisers of major sporting activities at the global, continental and regional level and will continue to do so,” said the QAF president.
Aspire Dome is the venue which successfully hosted the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2010 and the 3rd edition of the Asian Indoors in 2008.
“Throughout all these years we have gained valuable experience in hosting large-scale athletics events with a global impact, a mission that will be culminated with the hosting of the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships,” added al-Hamad, who added that the Qatar team’s objective is to rank first, just like two years ago in Hangzhou, China.
“Qatar can boast of having one of the youngest and most talented teams worldwide. At the 7th Asian Indoor Championships we expect to field a full-strength squad of more than 25 male and female athletes. Two years ago we topped the medal table with 5 golds. We are optimistic that the home advantage will guide our athletes to repeat that feat, and furthermore demonstrate their enormous potential ahead of the World Indoor Championships in Portland, USA,” he added.
The Asian Indoors will be one of the final chances for Asian athletes who haven’t yet managed to meet the qualification standard for Portland. Aspire Zone’s fast track will surely assist many of them fulfil their task and qualify for the World Indoors.
Speaking on behalf of his fellow compatriots, Barshim stated that he will do everything in his capacity to help the team duplicate its 2014 heroics, while also adding that he will again aim for the world record both indoors and outdoors.
“I want to thank the QAF for bringing this important competition in Qatar. First of all I want to stay healthy and then do everything possible to compete at the highest level. It will be a very difficult season with so many great competitions ahead. I will try to beat the world record indoors and outdoors, starting from the World Championships in Portland,” said Barshim.
Abdel Hakeem al-Ameri, QAF Head of Technical Committee & Competition and Director for the 7th Asian Indoors, stated that many foreign delegations have already asked to come to Doha well before the Championships to boost their winter training preparations.
“Our fine weather and ideal facilities and conditions we offer have attracted the interest of various countries who have asked us to accept them before the Indoor Championships for training camps,” he informed.
The 7th Asian Indoor Championships is supported by Aspire and Aspetar, two giant Qatari organisations in the sports industry and trusted partners of QAF in recent years.