Doha: Local hero and defending Asian and World indoor high jump champion Mutaz Barshim will lead Qatar’s challenge at the 2016 Asian Indoors Championship in Doha.

Barshim leads the men’s chart of 175 competitors preparing to flock to Aspire Dome’s state-of-the-art facility for the February 19 to 21 event.

Olympic bronze medallist Barshim is more likely though to add a fourth title to the record-books following his successive victories in 2010 2012 and 2014.

Barshim sailed over 2.34 earlier this year in Malmö and judging by his own recent statement he has set his sights not only on another continental indoor accolade but on a new area and world indoor record as well.

The quest for more medals for the hosts will be led by other medal hopefuls like Samuel Francis (60m) Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla (800m) and Mohamed Al Garni (1500m & 3000m) aiming to duplicate their 2014 success.

Another Qatari on the road to a fourth Asian indoor title is Francis a three-time winner over the 60m will be chasing a fourth title on Day 1 of the Championships when the gun sounds the start of the short dash final at 8:45pm time.

The hosts who aim to set a new gold-medal haul record and thus surpass their 2014 five-star tally have more arrows in their quiver besides the aforementioned.

Asian champion and indoor record holder Abdalleleh Haroun as well as Tosin Ogunode the 2014 surprise package who ran 6.50 a 60m Asian record when not yet eligible to represent Qatar internationally may as well find themselves climbing on the top of the podium.

Over 430 athletes representing 37 nations are due to compete at the 2016 AAA Indoor Championships at Aspire Dome in the men’s and women’s section.

Others who seek to defend their titles won two years back they captured in Hangzhou China are Mahdi Zamani and Maryam Toosi from Iran as will Kuwaitis Abdulaziz Almandeel (60m hurdles) and Saleh Alhaddad (long jump) and Japan’s Tomomi Abiko in pole vault.

India’s Om Prakash Karhan is rated among the favourites in the shot put in his quest for back-to-back Asian indoor titles as is Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Radzivil.

In the women’ section Olympic triple jump champion and Asian record holder Olga Rypakova from Kazakhstan is undoubtedly the one to watch among the 115 female athletes

The first medals of the championships will be awarded to the winners of the women’s triple jump an event which is overshadowed by the presence of Rypakova.

At the age of 31 the Kazak remains one of the event’s top guns. Her medal winning capacity when the going gets tough guided her to the 2015 IAAF World Championships bronze in Beijing.

Rypakova has great memories from the Aspire Dome arena a venue she won an Asian title in 2008 and the World title in 2010.

Other notable entrants are Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Salman Al Khuwalidi the long jump area record holder and the only “survivor” from the 2004 golden generation athletes who won at the inaugural Asian Indoor Championships.

Al Khuwalidi is along with Kazakhstan’s triple jumpers Roman Valiyev and Rypakova the only three 2008 winners who return to Doha for a second golden taste inside the Aspire Dome famous arena.

China is featuring along with hosts Qatar the largest delegation consisting of 23 athletes. Among them in-form 19-year-old pole vaulter Huang Bokai who showed his potential by clearing 5.60 recently and the 2012 champ Ling Li the women’s pole vault Asian record holder.

Zheng Xingjuan a former Asian champion is expected to challenge Radzivil in the high jump while Cao Shuo in triple jump Minjia Lu in long jump and Tianqian Guo in shot put look certain to enforce China’s bid to reclaim the top spot from reigning champs Qatar on the medal table.

Bahrain is represented by a 17-athlete strong team (12 of them women - more than any other nation). Asian 3000m record holder Albert Rop and the Asian 400m hurdles champion Oluwakemi Adekoya who is entering the 400m are the team’s main assets.

Japan’s main gold medal hopes lie on pole vaulter Seito Yamamoto who jumped 5.77 in mid-January. Kazakhstan besides Rypakova and Valiyev has high expectations from the new shot put Asian record holder (20.51) Ivan Ivanov and the 60m sprinter Victoriya Zyabkina (7.24 season best).

Apart from Al Khuwalidi the Saudis may count as well for a podium finish on Mohammed Othman Shaween in the 1500m and the shot put outdoors area record holder Sultan Abdulmajeed Al Hebshi.

The Peninsula