The venue of the 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships on Friday. [Photo by Yan Dongjie / chinadaily.com.cn]
The 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships got underway at the Tianjin Tuanbo Sports Center Athletics Arena on Friday, attracting more than 300 athletes from 35 countries and regions to compete in 26 events over three days, marking the highest-level indoor athletics event in Asia in recent years.
At the opening ceremony, Gen Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Asian Athletics Association, said that Tianjin, with its profound historical heritage and spirit of hospitality, is an ideal venue for hosting this edition of the championships and wished the championships complete success.
Norah Jeruto Tanui (right) competes in the women's 1500m final of the 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships at the Tianjin Tuanbo Sports Center Athletics Arena on Friday. [Photo by Yan Dongjie / chinadaily.com.cn]
"Actually, this competition was not easy for me. The athletes from other countries were very strong and couldn't be underestimated," Norah Jeruto Tanui, who took the bronze medal in the women's 1500m final, said while draped in the national flag of Kazakhstan and taking photos with athletes from other countries.
"Beyond the competition, although we do not speak the same language, we have learned different languages and cultures from each other," the Kazakh long-distance runner added.
Su Wen (center), Jiao Xinping (left) and Ma Yinglong (right) take gold, silver and bronze, respectively, in the men's triple jump on Friday. [Photo by Li Ziyuan / for chinadaily.com.cn]
In the men's 800m round 1, Ibrahim Abass M Chuot from Qatar stood out.
"I like the weather and streets of Tianjin. The track here and the organizers have given me a great experience," he said.
"I will continue to prepare for the final here and see you in the final."
Ibrahim Abass M Chuot (1st from the right) competes in the men's 800m final of The 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships at the Tianjin Tuanbo Sports Center Athletics Arena on Friday. [Photo by Yan Dongjie / chinadaily.com.cn]
On the opening day, finals were held for six events, namely the men's triple jump, women's 1500m, women's shot put, men's high jump, women's pentathlon, and men's 60m, while preliminaries for events, including the women's 400m and men's 400m, also took place.
The first gold medal of the championships was claimed at the men's triple jump final on the opening day. Chinese athlete Su Wen won the championship with a jump of 16.55 meters.
Li Ziyuan contributed to this story.
