<p>A colourful ceremony marked the official opening of the 20th Asian Athletics Championships here but Suresh Kalmadi, the former president of the Asian Athletics Association, stayed away from the function.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan inaugurated the championships, in which close to 600 athletes from 43 Asian nations are participating.<br /><br />Kalmadi, being the Member of Parliament from Pune, was listed among the guests but he decided not to put in an appearance.<br /><br />Kalmadi had lost the elections to the AAA president’s post on Tuesday to Qatar’s Dahlan Al Hamad.<br /></p>
<p>A colourful ceremony marked the official opening of the 20th Asian Athletics Championships here but Suresh Kalmadi, the former president of the Asian Athletics Association, stayed away from the function.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan inaugurated the championships, in which close to 600 athletes from 43 Asian nations are participating.<br /><br />Kalmadi, being the Member of Parliament from Pune, was listed among the guests but he decided not to put in an appearance.<br /><br />Kalmadi had lost the elections to the AAA president’s post on Tuesday to Qatar’s Dahlan Al Hamad.<br /></p>
