Odisha is now a front runner to host the 22nd Asian Athletics Championship 2017, at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar scheduled to be held from July 1 to 4 of this year. An AFI (Athletic Federation of India) team was in the state capital on Thursday to inspect the venue.
Earlier, it was finalised that the Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi would host the event.
The State Government has come forward to support the event which will be staged in India for the third time, the previous editions being held in New Delhi (1989) and Pune (2013).