Asian Games 2023 athletics: Preview, schedule, how to watch live track and field action at 19th Asian Games Hangzhou
Which are the key track and field athletes to follow at the Asian Games? When are the competitions taking place? Discover what you need to know.
Athletics
A total of 48 sets of medals in track and field athletics are on offer at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou taking place in 2023.
The likes of Olympic champions Mutaz Essa Barshim, Neeraj Chopra, Gong Lijiao, and Liu Shiying will be in action from 29 September to 5 October, with competitions taking place at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium and the Smart New World Qiantang River Green Belt.
Here is who to watch for in the track and field competitions in Hangzhou.
Track and field athletes to watch at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou
Some of the world’s biggest track and field stars will be in action at the Asian Games, using the competition as their season-ending meet.
Names such as Qatar’s Olympic high jump gold medallist Barshim even opted to skip the Diamond League Final in Oregon in mid-September in favour of focusing on the continental event.
Fellow high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok of Republic of Korea did go to the Diamond League Final, where he won the title by equalling his personal best and national record. That duel looks set to be one of the highlights of the track and field programme in Hangzhou.
Also present at the Diamond League Final and here in Hangzhou are the world javelin champions Chopra of India and Kitaguchi Haruka of Japan, looking to add to their recent success from the World Championships in Budapest in August.
The Philippines’ EJ Obiena (men’s pole vault), hosts China’s Gong (women’s shot put) and Liu (women's javelin), and Asian sprint queen Shanti Pereira of Singapore (women’s 100m, 200m) – the only Asian athlete to qualify for a World Championships semi-final this year in the sprints – will all also be athletes to keep an eye on.
And can Bahrain’s Winfred Mutile Yavi challenge the women’s 3000m steeplechase world record? She is the second-fastest woman ever in the event, having run 8:50.66 at the Diamond League Final, and is now just six seconds away from Beatrice Chepkoech’s 8:44.32 from 2018.
Athletics at Asian Games in 2023: Finals schedule and event start times
All times China Standard Time (UTC +8 hours) and subject to change. Only finals listed.
Friday 29 September
- 07:00 – Men’s 20km race walk
- 07:10 – Women’s 20km race walk
- 19:10 – Women’s hammer throw
- 20:05 – Women’s 10,000m
- 20:45 – Women’s shot put
Saturday 30 September
- 19:00 – Men’s hammer throw
- 19:05 – Men’s pole vault
- 20:00 – Women’s 400m
- 20:10 – Men’s 400m
- 20:20 – Men’s 10,000m
- 21:40 – Women’s 100m
- 21:55 – Men’s 100m
Sunday 1 October
- 19:00 – Men’s shot put
- 19:10 – Men’s long jump
- 19:15 – Men’s 3000m steeplechase
- 20:05 – Women’s discus throw
- 20:20 – Women’s 1500m
- 20:30 – Men’s 1500m
- 20:45 – Women’s heptathlon 800m
- 21:15 – Women’s 100m hurdles
Monday 2 October
- 19:00 – Women’s pole vault
- 19:10 – Women’s long jump
- 19:20 – Women’s 3000m steeplechase
- 19:40 – Men’s discus throw
- 19:45 – Women’s 200m
- 19:55 – Men’s 200m
- 20:15 – Men’s 110m hurdles
- 20:40 – Mixed 4x400m relay
Tuesday 3 October
- 19:00 – Women’s high jump
- 19:10 – Men’s triple jump
- 19:20 – Women’s 400m hurdles
- 19:35 – Men’s 400m hurdles
- 19:50 – Women’s 5000m
- 20:10 – Women’s javelin throw
- 20:25 – Men’s 800m
- 20:40 – Men’s decathlon 1500m
- 21:05 – Women’s 4x100m relay
- 21:25 – Men’s 4x100m relay
Wednesday 4 October
- 07:00 – Mixed team 35km race walk
- 19:00 – Men’s high jump
- 19:05 – Men’s javelin throw
- 19:10 – Women’s triple jump
- 19:25 – Women’s 800m
- 19:40 – Men’s 5000m
- 20:15 – Women’s 4x400m relay
- 20:35 – Men’s 4x400m relay
Thursday 5 October
- 07:00 – Men’s marathon
- 07:10 – Women’s marathon
How to watch athletics (track and field) at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou in 2023
To watch the 19th Asian Games held in 2023, you can tune into the various TV broadcasters and on-demand streaming provided by the broadcasters. The list includes:
- CCTV in China
- TBS in Japan
- Sony LIV (Sony Sports Network) in India
- MediaCorp Channel 5 and mewatch.sg in Singapore
- MNCTV, RCTI, iNews TV, and Vision+ in Indonesia
- KBS, MBC, SBS, and TV Chosun in the Republic of Korea
- OneSports in Philippines
- RTM and Astro in Malaysia