Athletics is one of the major events held at the Asian Games, which involves multiple sports like running, jumping, throwing, hurdles, discus throw, steeplechase etc. It has been a part of Asian Games since its start in 1951.
China has been a dominant country in the Asian Games Athletics, having won a total of 606 medal, including 300 gold. They are closely followed by Japan, who have 540 medals, which include 151 gold. At every Asian Games, either one of the countries have been named as the best nation in the athletics event.
While India is one of the nations with the bigger contingent, they are on the third place in the overall medal tally with 282 medals, including 74 gold. In the recent past, India has upped their game in athletics and are expected to give a tough competition to the top two nations at the 2018 Asian Games.
List of events in athletics
| Events |
| 100 Meter race |
| 200 Meter race |
| 400 Meter race |
| 800 Meter race |
| 1500 Meter race |
| 5000 Meter race |
| 10000 Meter race |
| Marathon |
| 110 Meter hurdles |
| 400 Meter hurdles |
| 3000 Meter steeplechase |
| High jump |
| Pole vault |
| Long jump |
| Triple jump |
| Shot put |
| Discus throw |
| Hammer throw |
| Javelin throw |
| Decathlon |
| 10 km walk |
| 20 km walk |
| 50 km walk |
| 4 × 100 Meter relay |
| 4 × 400 Meter relay |
Asian Games 2018 athletics
The event of Athletics will be held at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia from 25 to 30 August 2018.
With a total of 51 athletes in the Indian Athletic team for the 2018 Asian Games, India is expected to win medals in multiple events. Eyes will be on 18-year old sprinter Hima Das, who won the gold medal at the recently concluded World U-20 Championships 2018. The women’s 4x100m relay team will also look to defend their title in Indonesia.
In Javelin throw, Neeraj Chopra will be a gold prospect, while Seema Punia will be looked forward to in the women’s discus throw.
2014 Asian Games Athletics Results
In the 2014 Asian Games, China led the medal chart by 40 medals, 15 of which were gold, 14 Silver and 11 Bronze. The Chinese domination was clear and by a decent margin as the second country to boast most medals was Japan with a total of 22 medals.
Bahrain was the third country with 18 medals, nine of which were gold, followed by India and South Korea with 13 and 10 medals in their bags.
