Qatar open West Asian Athletics account in Dubai with 20km walk gold and bronze

Qatar open West Asian Athletics account in Dubai with 20km walk gold and bronze

“Al Kerbi claims gold medal, Muthanna third”

Francis fourth in 100m sprint challenge, relay team through to final

Today brings closing day and 16 exciting finals for men and women

Dubai dispatch –

Our gold-medal champion Mabrouk Nasser Saleh Al Kerbi gave our national athletics team its first colour medal — gold in the 20km walk — on the second day of the second West Asian Athletics Championships, currently being held in the United Arab Emirates in the city of Dubai at the Officers Club track and field venue in the Al Qarhoud area. The second edition of the West Asian Championships is enjoying record participation from the region, with 12 countries taking part (host UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Iran), represented by (248) athletes — 89 women and 159 men — alongside 111 officials and coaches

The championships had kicked off the previous Wednesday under the generous patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, in the presence of heads of delegations and championship guests.

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Qatari brilliance and dominance

Turning to the final of the 20km walk and the eye-catching form of Qatari champion Mabrouk Al Kerbi, who claimed Qatar’s first gold medal of the championships so far, Al Kerbi took control of the race from the first 5km, and it soon became clear the fight for top spot was between Al Kerbi, Iran’s Mehdi and Al Kerbi’s compatriot Hussein Muthanna, who finished third. Amid the intense competition, several athletes received warnings for technique faults in the walk, which discouraged many from taking risks to raise their pace — particularly Al Kerbi’s Iranian rival Mehdi, who received a yellow warning that affected his concentration, giving Al Kerbi the edge to push hard through the decisive final 600m, where he battled it out with the Iranian for supremacy. Qatar’s champion Al Kerbi took first place in 1:31:00, Iranian runner-up Mehdi finished in 1:34:00, while Qatar’s Hussein Muthanna came third in 1:49:00.

Suleiman: “Al Kerbi is the king of race walking”

Captain Mohammed Suleiman, head of the delegation, congratulated the Qatari team on the notable achievement of champion Mabrouk Al Kerbi, gold medallist in the 20km walk, and his young teammate Hussein Muthanna’s bronze, praising the outstanding performance and level shown by veteran Mabrouk and his teammate Muthanna during the race. He said Al Kerbi, as always, remained the master of race walking at regional and Arab level and delivered on his promise, adding that he had been confident of his ability to win the race despite having been away from training for a period, but had given his utmost to honour his country. Suleiman closed by wishing the rest of the team success in tonight’s closing session.

Gold medallist Al Kerbi: “My joy at this Asian gold is indescribable”

Champion Mabrouk Saleh Al Kerbi expressed his deep happiness and joy at claiming the West Asian gold medal in the walk, saying the fight for top spot had been confined to him, his Iranian rival and his compatriot Hussein Muthanna, but excessive eagerness and the judges’ strict warnings forced many competitors to hold back for fear of being shown red cards and forcibly disqualified. Al Kerbi revealed that his preparations had not been at the required level due to unforeseen circumstances, but he was thankful for what he and his teammate Muthanna had achieved in taking the gold and bronze medals, and wished the rest of his teammates success in the challenges ahead.

Captain Waleed Al Sabahi: “Mabrouk deserved the gold”

Coach Waleed Ahmed Al Sabahi congratulated our gold medallist Mabrouk Al Kerbi and his teammate Hussein Muthanna on taking gold and bronze in the 20km walk final, saying he had been confident in his athletes’ ability to settle the contest early, even though Iranian champion Mehdi was also a serious rival — but experience proved decisive, with Al Kerbi delivering an outstanding performance and imposing his style, forcing his rival into mistakes and losing his chance to challenge Al Kerbi at the front. Hussein Muthanna, for his part, put in a good effort but received a warning that affected his performance out of fear of picking up further warnings, so he was told to stay calm and maintain the same pace all the way to the finish line — and, thankfully, he took third place and the bronze medal, which under the circumstances he considered a fine achievement.

Al Hamad follows second day’s competition

Dahlan Al Hamad, President of the Qatar Athletics Federation, followed yesterday’s second-day competition at the West Asian Championships after arriving in Dubai from Doha at the invitation of the championship’s organising committee, where he was received by representatives of the UAE federation and members of the Qatari administrative delegation. After the competition, Al Hamad met with the participating Qatari delegation to check on everyone and on the readiness of the athletes taking part in today’s closing session.

An exciting battle awaits on closing day

Tonight brings the close of the second edition of the West Asian Athletics Championships, with the Officers Club track and field venue in Dubai hosting 16 finals for men and women, as follows: first, the men’s events (half marathon final, pole vault, long jump, 400m hurdles, 200m, discus throw, 800m, 5000m, 4x400m relay final); second, the women’s events (final, discus throw, 400m hurdles, 3000m steeplechase, heptathlon 800m final, 200m final, 4x400m relay final)

Qatar’s squad

Qatar’s team is competing at the championships with a group of its most prominent rising stars, led by Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, holder of the Arab and Asian gold medals in the high jump, while the 30-member Qatari delegation is headed by Captain Mohammed Suleiman, assistant secretary general, and includes Captain Abdulrahman Sultan Al Nubi as manager and Yacoub Yousef Abdullah as an official, while the technical and medical staff comprise Yanko Ivanov Bratanov, Evgeni Karasak, Viktor Yemko, Waleed Ahmed Al Sabahi, Pavel Scherba, Stanislav Scherba, Bashir Al Zaghouani, Mohammed Faraj Al Kaabi, Yasser Al Sayyadi, Khalid Yousef Al Obaidly, Mark Jan Bruruk and Sergey Beshkin. Qatar’s 15-strong squad is led by Mutaz Barshim, with Saif Sabah Khairallah in the 110m hurdles, Samuel Francis in the 100m and 200m, Jamal Abdulnasser Omar Abubaker in the 400m hurdles, Hassan Aman Hareb Salmeen in the 400m, Moammar Essa Barshim in the high jump, Ahmad Mohammed Deeb in the discus and shot put, Khalid Mohammed Deeb in the shot put, Jabr Khalifa Abdullah Jaber in the pole vault, Mohammed Fadel Al Mohannadi in the javelin, Mohammed Ibrahim Qaeda in the javelin, Mabrouk Saleh Nasser Mohammed in the walk, and Hussein Mohammed Muthanna in the walk, while the 4x100m relay team is made up of sprinters Samuel Francis, Eid Abdullah Al Kuwari, Ali Hassan Anbar Al Jassim, Saif Sabah Khairallah and Jamal Abdulnasser Omar Abubaker

Al Omari takes part as an official at the championships

Abdulhakim Al Omari, a board member and head of the technical and officiating committees at the Qatar Athletics Federation, is taking part in overseeing the West Asian Championships as an international official. Al Omari has taken up his duties in helping run affairs at the championships and sharing his expertise with his UAE counterparts.

Francis fourth in the 100m

Qatari sprinter Samuel Francis finished fourth in the 100m final, clocking a modest time, while Omani sprinter Barakat took the gold. Francis, returning from a long lay-off and a hamstring injury, has yet to regain the form that once earned him a string of Asian records both indoors and outdoors, and he is now under pressure to reassess, especially with the pack of Asian and world sprinters racing ahead at rocket speed and waiting for no one.