Ashraf Al Seifi tops the hammer throw with his brother runner-up, and Abbas qualifies for the 400m final
Our national youth athletics team won gold and silver in the hammer throw at the 16th Asian Youth Championships, currently being held on the track and field of Taipei Stadium in Taiwan, with the participation of 33 countries from across the continent of Asia.
Brothers Ashraf and Ahmed Amjad Al Seifi succeeded in winning the gold and silver medals in the hammer throw deservedly, both setting new marks, with the elder brother, Ashraf Al Seifi, taking the gold medal with a throw of 79.71m, achieving the best mark of the current year, 2014, while his younger brother, Ahmed Amjad Al Seifi, took the silver medal with a throw of 68.90m, a new personal best for him in the hammer throw, with Tajikistan’s team taking third place through their athlete Abdurauf Mustafoqulov, with a throw of 68.57m.
The Al Seifi brothers’ achievement at the Asian Youth Championship comes despite their arriving in Taiwan only hours before the competitions began, due to their being tied up with end-of-year exams, but despite that the two champions proved their competence and their ability to compete under any circumstances, both setting new marks for themselves at the championship.
Meanwhile, our champion Mohammed Nasser Abbas qualified for the final of the 400m, after covering the distance in 47.2 seconds in the heats, topping his group, giving him a strong chance of claiming one of the three medals in today’s 400m final.
For his part, while attending one of the medal ceremonies at the championship, Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, IAAF vice-president and president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations, congratulated brothers Ashraf and Ahmed Amjad Al Seifi on their achievement, affirming that they are two outstanding champions with a promising future, and said: “We all remember the tremendous achievement Ashraf Al Seifi made in the hammer throw at the World Youth Championships a year and a half ago in Barcelona, Spain, when champion Ashraf Al Seifi broke the world record with a throw of 85.57m,” noting that he is proud of every achievement made by our athletics champions in the various races and events.
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad wished our players success for the remaining days of the championship, and hoped they would win more medals of every colour, stressing that the competitions are tough and strong but our players are up to the responsibility and have the desire to keep working hard for further success.
