Chinthana Wasala
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The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar delivered a strong performance at the 26th Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea, adding another gold medal and a bronze to their tally yesterday.
At the Gumi Civic Stadium in Gumi, Qatar’s men’s 4x400m relay quartet of Abderrahman Samba, Bassem Hemeida, Hatim Aitoulaghazi and Ammar Ismail Ibrahim clinched the gold medal with an impressive time of 3:03.52.
The Qatari team fended off stiff challenge from India and China, who finished in second and third spots respectively. India finished with a national record of 3:03.52, while China clocked a seasonal best of 3:03.73.
Earlier, rising star Zakaria Elahlaami made his mark in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, securing Qatar’s first bronze medal in Gumi.
Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba in action during the men’s 4x400m relay final.
The 20-year-old Elahlaami pushed through a highly competitive field in the final, clocking a personal best time of 8:27.12.
India’s former Asian Games gold medallist Avinash Mukund Sable secured first place with a seasonal best time of 8:20.92, while Japan’s Yutaro Niinae came second with a seasonal best of 8:24.41.
Earlier, Qatar’s first medal came in the men’s 400m final on Wednesday, when Ammar Ismail Ibrahim stormed to victory by clocking 45.33 seconds.
Qatar’s Zakaria Elahlaami competes during the men’s 3000m steeplechase final.
However, despite strong efforts, Qatar’s Oumar Doudai Abakar narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s 110m hurdles, finishing fourth. His compatriot Djibrine Adoum Ahmat was placed 14th in the men’s shot put final later in the evening.
At the conclusion of the third day of the Championships, China took a dominant lead with a total of 21 medals, including 12 gold medals. India were second in terms of number of gold medals won (five) while adding six silver and three bronze medals.
Japan matched China’s total count of 21 medals, winning four gold, nine silver and eight bronze medals, while Qatar occupied the fourth place with two gold and one bronze medal.
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