Exciting finale for athletics

Khalifa Stadium will play host to the final night of athletics action on Tuesday 12 December, where the competition will end with a bang, and indeed a Zhang - China's Liu Zhang heads an all-star cast of track and field superstars.

As defending Asian Games champion, Olympic champion and world record holder, Liu will start as hot favourite in the men's 110m hurdles final which goes off at 16:05.

The 110m hurdles will be preceded by the start of the women's pole vault at 16:00, which should be a tightly-contested affair. China's Gao Shuying is the defending champion and also the gold medallist from last year's Asian Championships. She will be a marginal favourite in a field that should also see the likes of Ikuko Nishiikori of Japan, Zhao Yingying of China and Samsu Roslinda of Malyasia in contention for medals.

There will also be plenty for the home crowd to shout about, with strong medal hopes in the men's triple jump and men's 5000m in particular. In the triple jump, which starts at 16:15, Qatar will look to Ibrahim Babikir Mohamedein to produce the goods. At his best he is a 17m jumper and is one of a several athletes who will fancy their chances. Kim Deok-Hyeon of Korea, Li Yanxi of China and Roman Valiyev of Kazakhstan will also be feeling optimistic.

In the 5000m at 17:55, Qatar's James Kwalia C Kurui will lead the home challenge. He won gold over this distance at last year's Asian Championships. Kurui's compatriot Sultan Khamis Zaman should also be to the fore as will Bahrain's Mucheru Salem Jawher.

The wild card in the pack is world 800m and 1500m champion Rashid Ramzi. The Bahraini will have been disappointed with the bronze he won in the 1500m and will be keen to make up for it over a distance over which he rarely competes . The men's 5000m takes place at 17:55.

Also on the programme, for what promises to be a thrilling night, is the women's 1500m final at 17:30 and men's javelin final at 16:25. The 1500m features Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, one of the world's greatest exponents of the distance. The 22 year-old won gold at the World Athletics Final this year and is probably the only athlete in the field capable of going under four minutes.

The javelin features Korea's Park Jae Myoung, an athlete who has shown a consistent ability to throw over 80 metres. Uzbekistan's Sergey Voynov, won Asian Games gold in 1998, followed by silver four years later and is expected to contend again.

As is traditional on the final night of any major track and field meeting, the crowd at the Khalifa will also be treated to four relay final finals; men's and women's 4x100m and men's and women's 4x400m. Japan's strength in depth in the sprints should see them contend across all the relays.

The women's 4x100m takes place at 16:45, followed by the men's 4x100m 15 minutes later. The women's 4x400m takes place at 18:25, with the men's 4x400m bringing down the curtain on the evening's action at 19:05.

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006