Kuwait: Seifeldin Mohamed Abdelsalam struck gold for Qatar in pole vault with a superb performance on the opening day of the 4th Asian Under-18 Athletics Championships in Kuwait on Thursday.
It was Qatar’s second medal of the day, after Djibrine Adoum Ahmat’s silver in shot put.
Seifeldin dominated his event, sailing over the bar at 5.10 metres to claim the top spot. Iran’s Amirarshia Dogaheh (5.00) and India’s Kuldeep Kumar (4.80) finished second and third respectively.
Seifeldin, who opened with an easy 4.50M clearance, cleared 4.65, 4.75, 4.85 and 4.90M on his first try.
He faltered at 5M before clearing it the second time. While he could jump 5.05M only on his third attempt, he conquered the winning height on his first try.
Meanwhile, Djibrine heaved the iron ball to a distance of 19.01M, a personal best, to finish second behind India’s Akash Yadav (19.37). Siddharth Choudhary, also from India, finished third (19.00).