On the third day of the athletics competition at the 16th Asian Games, currently under way in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, Qatar’s national athletics team won three medals. The first was gold for world youth champion Mutaz Essa Barshim in the high jump, clearing 2.27m to comfortably beat his rivals through to the final height of the competition, then attempting to break
the Asian record at 2.32m without success. His teammate Rashid Al Manai won bronze in the event after clearing the bar at 2.19m, a height also shared by the Chinese, Kazakh and Sri Lankan jumpers. In the 3000m steeplechase, Qatari runner Thamer Ali Kamal won the silver medal in 8:26.27 after a tough contest with Bahraini runner Tareq Taher Mubarak, who snatched gold from Thamer Ali Kamal in 8:25.27, having overtaken him after Thamer had led the race through the first 2000m, while his teammate Zakariya Kamal finished fourth in 8:38.71. Qatar’s medal tally through the third day of the championships thus stood at two gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Tomorrow Qatar’s athletes will compete in the 400m hurdles, where Mubarak Al Nubi will take part, and in the discus throw, where Rashid Al Dosari and Ahmed Mohamed Deeb will compete, while sprinter Femi Seun will run the 200m, having already won gold in the 400m at this championship.
