On the first day of this branch of sports, Indonesia`s opportunity for grabbing a medal merely depended on Agus Prayogo, who competed in men`s marathon.
His effort to bag a medal in the final round of men`s marathon was challenged by 20 ahtletes of 12 countries, including North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Nepal, Bahrain, and Thailand.
Meanwhile, in the final round of women`s hammer throw, nine athletes representing seven countries would compete. Among them were China`s Wang Zheng and Lou Na, and Hitomi Katsuyama and Akane Watanabe of Japan.
The final round of women`s 10000m was contested by 10 athletes coming from India United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Japan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
India is represented by Sanjivani Baburao Jadhav and Suriya Loganathan while seven other countries just send one athlete respectively for the final round of women`s 10000m.
For the final round of men`s shot put, 11 athletes from nine countries would compete, including Iran`s Shahin Mehrdelan and Ali Samari, and Thailand`s Thawat Khachin and Promrob Juntima.
Besides these four final rounds, the first day of the Asian Games` athletics also showcased the early stages of men`s decathlon 100m, decathlon long jump, men`s 400m, men`s long jump, and men`s100m.
Indonesia is hosting the Asian Games for the second time this year, after Jakarta was selected as the venue for the Asian sporting event in 1962.
This year, Jakarta and Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra Province, are co-hosting the games from Aug 18 to Sept 2.
By virtue of its hosting the 2018 games, the country aims to secure a place among the top 10 largest sporting events.
At this world`s second biggest multi-sport event after the Olympics, around 15 thousand athletes from 45 countries will compete in 462 events across 40 sports, of which 32 are Olympic sports.
The Olympic sports are Aquatics, Athletics, Fencing, Weightlifting, Basketball, Handball, Badminton, Baseball/Softball, Cycling, Equestrian, Golf, Wrestling, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Canoeing and Kayaking, Sailing, Shooting, Modern Pentathlon, Archery, Sport Climbing, Rowing, Rugby, Gymnastics, Roller Skating, Football, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Boxing, Triathlon, and Volleyball.
The non-Olympic sports are Bowling; Bridge; Cricket; Kabaddi; Martial Arts, including Jujitsu, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Sambo, and Wushu; Mechanical Sports, such as Paragliding and Jet Skiing; Squash; and Sepak Takraw.
Indonesia`s target is to make it to the top 10 by winning a minimum of 16 gold medals.
Reported by Hernawan Wahyudono
Editing by Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
