After being canceled in Tamil Nadu and Delhi, the Asian Athletics Championship will take place in Maharashtra at Pune. The state cabinet of Maharashtra on Wednesday cleared the decks for hosting the event at an expected expenditure of Rs 18 Crores. The event will take place at Balewadi Sports Complex from July 3 to 7.
The event is organized by Athletics Federation of India. It was scheduled to be held at Chennai in
Tamil Nadu but the state refused to host it citing participation of Sri Lankan athletes. It was then shifted to New Delhi but the government there also backed out. Thereafter, the AFI requested the Maharashtra government to host the even.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had talks with the Union Sports Secretary in New Delhi in this regard. In the state cabinet meeting held at Mumbai and chaired by CM Chavan himself, the decision to host the event was taken.
This is the 20th edition of this event and about 600 participants from 45 countries are expected to take part in it.