By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 9, 2017 : India created a history on Sunday by finishing on top of the standings table beating the likes of continental powerhouse China, Korea, Iran in the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships, which concluded here with a grand ceremony.

India topped the table with 12 gold, five silver and 12 bronze medals making a total of 29 medals during the five-day mega sports extravaganza. Favourite China was second in the list of medal with a total of 20 medals comprising of eight gold, seven silver and five bronze. Kazakhstan finished the continental flagship event on third position with four gold, two silver and two bronze making a total of eight medals.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik presented the champions trophy to the Indian contingent. “We have all witnessed history in the making. Four days of packed stadium, deafening cheers and overwhelming support, will power, grit, pouring medals amidst pouring rain and a lifetime of memories for both Asia and Odisha,” he said.

Patnaik greeted all Indian athletes for creating history in Odisha. “‘India creates history in #Odisha.No1 in medals tally. #AAC2017 a giant leap for athletics in country. Huge congratulations,” he tweeted.

The chief minister also took the enthusiasm of Odias to a new level saying it is good opportunity to announce that Kalinga International Sports City will be set in Bhubaneswar making it a bidder for most international competitions including Commonwealth and Asian Games.

“We have managed to create a landmark event and extend it into a permanent facility that will nurture Indian athletics and Odisha in particular,” he said.

Patnaik also announced that satellite stadiums with world class infrastructure facilities will be set up in four other corporations of the state namely Rourkela, Cuttack, Berhampur and Sambalpur.

           Dutee Chand

It was a bag of mixed results for handful of Odia athletes who took part in the mega sporting event. Odia girl and national record holder Dutee Chand came third got a bronze medal in women’s 100 m event with a lap timing of 11.52 sec and followed it up with another bronze along with her teammates in the women’s 100m relay event. Failing to bring down the timing under 11.20 sec or a gold Dutee could not secure a berth to the world championships in London next year.

Her compatriot Srabani won a third bronze for the state alongside Dutee in the   4×100 m sprint.

Purnima Hembram, another local star athlete also made headlines after an impressive display in hepthalon event while Jauna Murmu after superb display in preliminary heats in her 400m hurdles event failed to win any medal for the country.

Earlier the state government had announced cash prizes worth of Rs 3 lakh to all the five Odia athletes for their hard work and brilliance that they showed during the sporting extravaganza.