With a month to go until the athletes set foot in Doha’s magnificent Aspire Dome arena for the 7th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships action, many records are expected to tumble.
The current record for the number of countries entering the Championships is 29, a record which dates back to Doha 2008.
With 36 countries having already checked in for the 2016 edition according to the provisional entry list, the first record looks set to fall even before the competition officially kicks off.
These 36 nations will be represented by 400-420 athletes, a number that will produce yet another Championships’ record.
The hosts are expected to field their largest ever delegation, beating their previous record of 19 athletes (15 men and 4 women) in 2008.
Given that Qatar athletics is going through a phase of rapid development and has grown as one of Asia’s superpowers, QAF has nominated a 28-athlete strong team, consisting of 21 male and 7 female athletes.
“The increasing number of nations and athletes, who are set to compete at the 7th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha, showcases the tremendous efforts the Asian Athletics Association and the Qatar Athletics Federations have put in in the last couple of years to develop and expand athletics throughout our continent,” said the AAA and QAF president Major General Dahlan al-Hamad.
He added: “I am also proud to see the growing number of female Qatari athletes in recent years. Qatar has taken giant steps towards the development of women’s athletics and we feel that quite soon our long term plan will bear fruit.”
Reigning Asian High Jump indoor champion and Area record holder, Mutaz Barshim will lead the hosts’ goal to match the heroics of the 2014 team which topped the medal table in Hangzhou with 5 golds and 3 silvers. Overall, Qatar has gained 29 medals (16 gold, 9 silver and 4 bronze) since 2006, when the nation first competed at the Asian Indoor Championships, after missing the inaugural competition in 2004.
Barshim, who opted to limit his indoor appearances this season, to concentrate on Rio Olympics, holds, along with the 60m specialist Samuel Francis, the record with the most cumulative gold medals (3 apiece) in all editions. Mohamed al-Garni has won the most medals than any other Qatari with 5 (2 gold and 3 silver) in total, but, unlike the other two, he has competed in two different events, the 1500m and the 3000m.
The Qataris also possess five Asian Indoor Championships records: in the 60m (6.58 -set by two athletes, Samuel Francis and Femi Ogunode), the 1500m (3:40.86 by Thamer Kamal Ali), the 3000m (7:39.77 by Said Saaeed Sheheen) and the High Jump (2.37 by Mutaz Barshim). Nevertheless, the Chinese who have won 44 gold medals in the previous six editions, more than any other nation, are leading the records’ ranks as well, owning eight.
The 7th Asian Indoor Championships will be held from February 19 to 21 in Doha and is supported by Aspire and Aspetar.