Curtains came down on the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships (AAC)-2017 with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declaring the five-day mega event closed at the Kalinga Stadium here on a majestic note late on Sunday evening.
It was indeed a proud moment for the Chief Minister as his Government accomplished the challenging task of hosting the international meet with preparations, including upgradation of the Kalinga Stadium to world standards in only 90 days after several other States shied away from the assignment.
The closing ceremony began with the athletes from the 45 countries holding a colourful march-past in the stadium which was followed by showing of a movie entitled "The 5 days of AAC-17".
Earlier to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's speech, the State's Minister of Sports and Youth Services Chandra Sarathi Behera welcomed the gathering, after which the Athletics Association of Asia (AAA) president and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran spoke.
This was followed by the lowering of the AAA flag and handing it over to the representative of the next AAC host country.
A brief cultural show and a display of fireworks marked the end of the event that had been a huge attraction in the State capital city for all these days.