In a fresh achievement for Qatari athletics at continental level, our national team’s two promising champions Mohanad Khamis and Moaz Ibrahim won two gold medals at the 17th Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which drew more than 500 athletes representing 40 countries from across the continent.
Qatar’s champions Mohanad Khamis, who claimed gold in the 3000m steeplechase, and Moaz Ibrahim, who deservedly won discus gold, boosted Qatari athletics’ strong presence on the continent and confirmed the Qatari talent honed through the training and planning of the Qatar Athletics Federation under the leadership of Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, taking Qatar’s medal tally to three after Idris Yousef’s silver the day before yesterday.
New Qatari glory
Emerging champion Mohanad Khamis won the day’s first gold medal on the third day of competition in the 3000m steeplechase, recording a time of 9:26.00, after strong competition from the continent’s youth champions against whom Qatar’s promising champion competed despite being a junior, writing a new chapter of glory for himself among the continent’s youth steeplechase champions.
Nor was there any shortage of achievement in the field events, as Qatari champion Moaz Ibrahim shone by reaching the top of the podium for the first time in his career as a junior, given the chance by the Qatar Athletics Federation to compete against the youth category and beat them. He won discus gold with a golden throw of 60.49m, earning himself a golden place at the top of the continent’s youth discus rankings.
Hamdi fifth
In the high jump, success eluded Qatar’s junior champion Hamdi Al Amin, who competed against Asia’s youth in the event and beat them over three rounds but failed to clear 2.10m, stopping at 2.07m, despite holding a better personal best of 2.20m — though he chose to save his best for a different competition and is preparing for next month’s World Championships.
There was overwhelming joy among the Qatari delegation at the gold haul, which saw Qatar’s national anthem played twice in a wonderful evening at Independence Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.
