Hairane adds another gold to Qatar’s haul in Ashgabat
Ashgabat, September 21, 2017-Qatar athletes put up a great combined effort on the fourth day of the track and field events to collect one gold, one silver, one bronze and a creditable fourth place finish on Wednesday at Ashgabat 2017, the 5th Indoor Athletics & Martial Arts Games.
The gold was claimed by Qatar's 800m specialist Jamal Hairane, who did himself and the country proud as he ran with great vigour to pip the challengers at the post.
The 26-year-old Qatari, who trailed for the better part of the race, came up with a spirited burst in the end to finish first in 1:49.33secs, ahead of Sri Lankan Herath Ekanayaka (1:49.45) and Iranian Moradi Amir, who took the bronze medal with a time of 1:49.51secs.
An elated Hairane said,"I am really happy to come here and win the race. The atmosphere was very good, the people are friendly and the facilities really good. During the race, I did everything my coach had told me to so I want to thank him."
On winning the gold after a silver at the 2017 Asian Championships, and bronze at the 2014 Asian Games, the athlete said,"I have done it at last. I have got silver and a bronze. Now I have them all, so I am very, very happy to have won the gold medal."
On his tactic of finishing strongly in the final 100 metre stretch, Hairane termed it as his strength."That is my strength normally. In the semi-final, I led from the front and I wasn't happy. I did not feel comfortable, so in the final I went back to what I know best. Now everybody knows what my strength is."
Abdalelah Haroun, who had collected the men's 400m gold on Tuesday, once again returned to action, this time to anchor the men's 4x400m team to a silver medal. The Qatar quartret, which clocked 3:12.58secs, was edged by Pakistan (3:11.40). The bronze went to Thailand, who finished in 3:21.21secs.
The two bronze medals for Qatar came in the triple jump and taekwondo.
In the men's triple jump, Qatar's Ahmed Rashid Al Mannai leapt a best 15.99m. The gold was won by India's Arpinder Singh, who touched 16.21m, while Thailand's Pratchaya Tepparak (16.12) got silver.
Adding to the track athletes' delight was Qatar's taekwondo contender Ali al Araimi Juma, who though lost to Iran's Nazemi Erfan 15-28 (Round scores 3-3, 5-9, 7-16; Points Earned 10-20; Penalty 5-8) but got a bronze for making it to the semi-finals.
Ali had earlier defeated Korean Seyoung Kim 17-14 (3-0, 6-4, 8-10) in the quarter-final.
Speaking of his effort, Ali said,"I'm really happy about my fight today even if I didn't win. I did my best. I'm happy to win the bronze. I need to train more and I need more competition and with time I will get there."
On receiving a blow on his face, he said,"I took a hit to the face and it hurts a little but that's okay, it's a part of the game. It happens."
Qatar's Mohamat Allamine Hamdi, however, didn't have the rub of luck as he missed the podium by a whisker finishing fourth in the men's high jump. The 20-year-old scaled 2.18m, a shade behind Sri Lankan Manjula Wijesekara who jumped 2.21 to win the bronze medal.
On the other hand, world champions Qatar made their debut in the 3x3 basketball at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games with a 21-11 rout of Samoa in Ashgabat on Wednesday.
Playmaker Abdulrahman Saad and veteran Tanguy Ngombo scored most of the Qatar points in the dominant victory. Saad collected seven off 13 shots, while Tanguy's six contained a two-pointer.
Erfan Ali Saeed and Nedim Muslic backed the teammates well, recording four each. Muslic was impressive in his brief entry to the court as he sank two two-pointers to the delight of his team.
For Samoa, Ezra Tufuga was the leading contributor with a game-high 8, including two shots beyond the arc.
After Thursday's rest day, Qatar will take on Afghanistan and Jordan to complete the Pool C engagements. Afghanistan defeated Jordan 17-11 in another match to rise to the second place in the pool.
The 36th OCA General Assembly was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 5th Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
The meeting was chaired by the OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad and was attended by HE Dr. Thani Al Kuwari, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee who led the Qatari delegation in the meeting. In attendance also were Khaleel Al Jaber, Director of the QOC Sport Affairs Department and Jassim Al Buenain, the QOC Deputy Secretary General.
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