Athletes arrive at Pune for Asian Grand Prix meet

Pune, May 23: The first batch of 30 athletes, including those from China, arrived here to get acclimatised in preparation for the third and final leg of the Asian Grand Prix meet to be held at the newly-laid synthetic track at the Baburao Sanas Stadium here on May 26.

Besides the Chinese, athletes from Thailand, Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan and Sri Lanka arrived here from Bangalore after participating in the second leg of the Grand Prix.

The Chinese contingent, comprising a part of the Asian Games team, is laying stress on providing the much-needed competitive exposure to some its younger members, senior manager of the squad Yang Jimin said.

Speaking to reporters, through an interpreter, Mr Jimin said two of their top athletes Liu Xiang (110 meters hurdles) and long-distance runner Xiang Hui Na, the gold medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympic games, could not make the trip as they are busy training in USA in preparation for the Beijing Olympics.

Liu is also competing in USA meets o gain competition exposure, Mr Jimin said.

Mr Cai Yong, a liaison officer with the contingent, expressed satisfaction over the performance of their men and women athletes at Bangkok and Bangalore. ''We are looking forward to the Pune leg to better the earlier performances,'' he added.

The Chinese, looking trim and fit, have made their intentions clear as they went for training at the nearby Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City at Mahalunge-Balewadi here. Incidentally, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, alloted to Pune, will also be held at the same venue.

The Asian Grand Prix, which replaces the Permit meets, will be formally inaugurated on May 26.

Pune city MP and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi inspected the facilities at the Sanas Stadium and said it will be a permanent venue for hosting the Asian Grand Prix.

Hectic preparations are underway at the Sanas Ground to get the things in proper shape before the curtains rise for the event on Friday.

A total of 130 athletes, both men and women, will be competing in the 18-event card laid out for the day and offering a total prize money of 50,000 dollars. Doordarshan will telecast the event live on the sports channel for four hours from 1500 hrs to 1900 hrs.

UNI