Our runner Musaab Abdulrahman, who had claimed 800m silver, suffered an unpleasant surprise and a heavy blow after the judges’ committee decided to disqualify him along with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Abdulaziz Ladan, who had finished first, and Bahrain’s Abraham Kibchirchir Rotich, third, following a protest lodged by the Iraqi delegation claiming that their runner Adnan Taeis had been pushed and obstructed from behind, as the fast race saw jostling and loss of balance. Bahrain’s Yousef Saad Kamal fell around 200m after the start and was forced to withdraw, unable to catch up with the leading group, while Saudi Arabia’s Ladan pulled the Iraqi runner from behind and threw him off balance, and had to grab the shirt of Bahrain’s Rotich to avoid falling himself, though both finished the race. The medal ceremony was delayed after Qatar lodged an appeal against the decision to disqualify Musaab from the race and strip him of the silver medal, dashing the Asian dream, given that Abdulrahman had finished second in a time of 1:46.33, behind the other since-disqualified runners: Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Mohammed Ladan, who had originally taken gold in 1:46.28, and Bahrain’s Abraham Kibchirchir Rotich, third before disqualification in 1:46.94. Our runner Jamal Hijran finished sixth in 1:48.25, Iraq’s Adnan Taeis was fourth in a time of 1:47.48, and China’s Yang Huiying was fifth in 1:47.81, while Bahrain’s runner Yousef Kamal withdrew after stumbling on the final lap and was unable to keep pace with the rest of the field. The 800m saw a fierce battle among the leading trio – Qatar’s Musaab, Saudi Arabia’s Ladan and Bahrain’s Abraham – down to the very last stride on the finish line, where the race came down to a head-to-head between “Musaab and Ladan”, but the latter succeeded in winning the race by the narrowest of margins over Musaab, who appeared shaken and in disbelief at losing the race and the gold given his strong form and high state of readiness going into the race. But luck was against him, and despite an extraordinary effort throughout the 800m, leading the race from start to finish, his strength failed him at the decisive moment. Following the revision of the placings, Iraq’s Adnan Taeis was awarded the gold medal (by the judging committee’s decision), while China’s Yang Huiying, fifth in 1:47.81, was promoted to second place following the committee’s decision, and Qatar’s Jamal Hijran moved up to third.
A costly slip
Our runner Musaab Abdulrahman was disqualified from the race after one of the judges raised a flag when “Abdulrahman” touched the line on the first bend before entering the inside lane, which is considered a clear violation requiring disqualification under the rules governing the 800m
