Mohammed Suleiman, assistant secretary general of the athletics federation and manager of our national team, referred to accepting the Asian federation appeals committee’s decision regarding champion Musaab Abdulrahman and the loss of his silver medal, saying: The retired Olympic champion with a rich background in world athletics – thank God for everything, and we have accepted the decision with an open heart and a sporting spirit, because the appeals committee’s ruling upheld the officials’ decision against our runner Musaab on the grounds that he crossed the line before the bend to enter the inside lane, which is considered a clear violation, while in turn the Saudi and Bahraini runners, Ladan and Rotich, were disqualified for jostling and pulling their rival from behind, noting that an athlete must accept the officials’ decisions however harsh they may be, then appeal to the relevant authorities, confirming that the technical committee had studied the incident via the race video before taking the difficult decision against our player Musaab, who was greatly affected by the disqualification, especially as he had been at peak readiness and well prepared for the race, but it was God’s will that things ended this way, while in turn our promising runner Jamal Hijran, who had finished fifth, was awarded the bronze medal after the top three finishers in the thrilling race were disqualified, and Suleiman concluded his remarks by saying .. champion Musaab is a promising star with all the qualities needed to compete with the best in the middle-distance events, and he is capable of making up for it and regaining his mental and morale fitness after the sadness and heartbreak he experienced in Incheon, wishing him success along with his fellow ambassadors of sport and Qatari athletics.
