Qatar athletics finishes second at West Asian Youth Championship with 9 golds, 3 silvers and 2 bronzes

The West Asian Youth Athletics Championships opened in the city of Camille Chamoun in the Lebanese capital and continued from 23 to 25 September 2011,  with the participation of 13 countries, namely (the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Iraq, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Iran and Lebanon), attended by HE Staff Brigadier Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, IAAF vice president and acting president of the Asian Athletics Association, Mr Zeid Khayyam, representative of the minister of youth and sport, Mr Antoine Chartier, president of the Lebanese Olympic Committee, and Abdullah Shihab, president of the Lebanese Athletics Federation, in addition to the heads of the participating countries’ delegations.  Speeches were given during the opening ceremony welcoming the participating countries to the first West Asian youth athletics championship
The Qatari delegation consisted of Mr Mohammed Suleiman, board member, as head of delegation, Mr Mohammed Taher as administrator of the youth delegation, and Ms Mariam Abdullah, board member, as administrator of the girls’ delegation, with the participation of 9 junior boys and 4 junior girls.
 
In the first and second days’ competitions, Qatar topped the championship’s medal table, with Qatar’s male and female champions recording a clear superiority over their rivals, winning 7 gold medals and 2 silver medals, while Iraq took second place with 5 gold, 11 silver and 6 bronze medals, and Lebanon came third with a total of 4 gold, 3 silver and 8 bronze medals, but on the third and final day of the championship Iraq topped the medal table with a one-gold margin over Qatar, and Iraq clinched the championship in its favour, with Qatar coming second and Lebanon third.  The Qatari medal-winning athletes were honoured, and they are  :

Boys’ results

Girls’ results

Brigadier  Dahlan Al Hamad expressed his satisfaction at the great success the championship witnessed and the wide participation from all West Asian countries.
He said this championship marks the beginning of a long journey for the future champions of West Asia, thanking the Lebanese federation for its outstanding hosting as well as the West Asian federation for encouraging national federations to take part in this event, which is no less important than any other. HE Al Hamad had met Mr Zeid Khayyami, director general of youth and sport, who congratulated Al Hamad on his great success in the recent IAAF  elections, and also met Antoine Chartier, president of the Lebanese Olympic Committee, and discussed many topics of interest to both sides, particularly regarding the future of Asian and Arab athletics. Separately, Dahlan Al Hamad, vice president of the Asian federation, met the president of the Lebanese athletics federation, who offered him warm congratulations on Qatar’s achievement at the start of the championship.

Mohammed Suleiman: dedicates the achievement to our wise leadership

Mohammed Suleiman, a member of the federation’s board of directors, dedicated these achievements to our wise leadership for its continuous support of Qatari athletics, to the Qatar Olympic Committee for its great interest, and to Abdullah Al Zaini, president of the Qatar Athletics Federation, for his continuous attention and follow-up.

Mariam Al Ishaq: happy at our champions’ excellence
Mariam Al Ishaq, a member of the Qatar Athletics Federation, expressed her great happiness at what was achieved on the first day of the first West Asian Athletics Championship, saying that Qatar’s female champions showed, in their first participation in an Asian championship, a notable superiority in a number of events, and we dedicate the achievement to the officials who continuously provide support for the successful progress of Qatari athletics. She thanked the women’s sports committee for continuously motivating the champions to achieve the best results, hoping the champions succeed in winning further achievements in the coming days, and thanked the athletics federation, headed by HE Abdullah Al Zaini, for the continuous care of future champions and for providing them with the best preparation during the past period.

Mohammed Taher, delegation administrator

Mohammed Taher – delegation administrator and head of the throws unit – noted that these achievements in the youth category reflect the sound approach adopted by the federation in caring for and nurturing the younger age groups, as they are the main source for Qatar’s national teams in future sporting events, affirming that these achievements could not have been reached without the combined efforts, hard work and continuous follow-up of the athletes to raise their technical level in order to achieve results for the State of Qatar and Qatari athletics, and that these achievements could also not have been reached without the support provided by officials in the state and in the Qatar Olympic Committee for Qatari athletics and its golden federation.

Below is the medal table for the West Asian youth championship