Tehran Will Host Asian Athletics Championships

The Aftab-e Enqelab Sports Complex will host the 8th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, February 1-3.

To help improve quality of the games, Iran Athletics Federation has equipped the venues with Olympic-level facilities.

Majid Keyhani, head of the federation,  says all the equipment for the games has been purchased from Belgium and China.

According to the federation website Iriaaf.ir, Keyhani  added that two photo finish cameras and false start detection systems were purchased from Belgium.

A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to distinguish which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finish line may be used for a more accurate check.

False start detection system is the most assistant equipment for photo finish timing system. In big-size events, this system is recommended considering different start point at one time.

Pole vault pits, high-jump pits and hurdles have also been purchased. The accessories and equipment are from China.

  Presidents of Athletics Federation to Visit

Dahlan Al-Hamad, Qatari president of Asian Athletics Association and vice president of International Association of Athletics Federation, has said he will travel to Tehran to visit the venues and watch the games.

Besides Al-Hamad, the presidents of athletics federation of Iraq, Yemen, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka will also come to Tehran to see the games.

Tehran was host to the first and fourth editions of the event in 2004 and 2010. Iran holds the fourth place in the all-time medal table of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. China, Kazakhstan and Qatar are on the first to third places respectively.