Doha, 17 February 2008. HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Crown Prince and President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, attended part of the closing session of the third Asian Indoor Athletics Championships yesterday evening, which concluded at Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence. HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee, also attended part of the closing session, along with Dahlan Al Hamad, President of the Qatar Athletics Federation and Chairman of the Championships’ Supreme Organising Committee.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s athletics team ended their participation in the third Asian Indoor Athletics Championships on a triumphant note, thanks to Sultan Zaman’s achievement in the 3000m, after he took control of the race and covered the distance in 7:49.31. James Kwari added another bronze for Qatar, finishing third in the same race with a time of 7:50.76, while the bronze medal went to Indian runner Surinder Singh, who covered the race in 7:49.47.
Samuel Francis was the first to give Qatar gold on the first day of the third Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, hosted at Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence from 14-16 February, paving the way for Thamer Ali, who won 1500m gold on the second day – the same race in which Abubaker Kamal took bronze. Qatar’s success continued on the third and final day of the championships, when our athletes claimed one gold and two bronze medals, taking the team’s overall tally at the close of competition to seven medals: three gold and four bronze.
Dahlan Al Hamad, Chairman of the Supreme Organising Committee for the third Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, praised the efforts of our athletes who took part in this major sporting event, which concluded yesterday after strong competition over three days involving athletes representing 31 countries.
India made a strong showing in the women’s 800m, winning gold through Sinimol Paulse, who covered the race in 2:03.43. Her compatriot Devi Sushma finished second in 2:04.66, while third place went to Kazakhstan’s Matsko Margarita, who clocked 2:04.85.
Indian champion Sinimol broke the championship record, previously held by Zamira Amiruoa at 2:07.01, set at the second championships hosted by Bangkok in 2006.
Bahrain’s Yousef Saad Kamal won gold in the men’s 800m after strong competition against runners from Iran, India and Qatar, represented by Abubaker Kamal, who settled for fifth place in 1:49.86. Bahrain’s Yousef Ali covered the race distance in 1:48.03, equalling the record set by a Bahraini runner at the first championships in 2004 in the Iranian capital Tehran. Iranian runner Ehsan Mohajer Shojaei took second place in 1:48.68 to win silver, while third place and bronze went to Japan’s Masato Yokota in 1:49.30.
Kazakhstan’s athletes left no chance for their rivals to win any medal in the high jump, sweeping all three medals. First place and gold went to Tatiana Yefimenko, who cleared 1.91m, while bronze went to Anna Ustinova, who cleared the same height, and the bronze medal was won by Ekaterina Yevseyeva, whose attempts stopped at 1.88m.
Saudi champion Mohammed Al Kuwailidi also asserted his dominance in the long jump, finishing first and winning gold with a leap of 8.22m. Kuwait’s Saleh Al Haddad took silver with 7.88m, while Japan’s Yohei Sugai settled for third place and bronze after failing to better 7.70m in his final attempt.
Kuwaiti champion Ahmed Gholoum won gold in the shot put despite strong competition from athletes from India, China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, finishing his series with 18.55m. India’s Prakash Karhana took silver with 18.37m, while China’s Yao Yongguang settled for third place and bronze with 18.16m. Our own Mohammed Amin ended his series at 16.62m and finished sixth.
The final metres proved decisive in the women’s 4x400m relay, which looked in its early stages set to be dominated by Kazakhstan’s athletes, before the Indian team of Kaur, Joseph, Soman and Kaur turned the race around in the closing stretch to snatch gold, covering the distance in 3:37.36. The Kazakhstan team of Azarova, Mastyonkova, Lopatina and Gavryushenko settled for second place and silver in 3:38.10, while third place went to the Thai team of Thawoncharoen, Kaeochoiy, Hatthanawong and Youngpan in 3:43.22.
