PROUD MOMENTS: Qatar’s Balla (C) pose with his gold medal after winning the men’s 800m.
AFP/Pune
Qatar’s Musaab Abdelrahman Balla emerged an easy winner in the men’s 800m on the final day of the Asian track and field championships that ended here yesterday.
China’s young athletics brigade however showed they were ready for higher honours after dominating the medals tally.
China’s team of the future finished the continental meet with 16 gold medals from the 42 events contested, way ahead of the five golds won by second-placed Bahrain and four each by Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Su Bingtian, who retained his 100m title beating Asian record-holder and favourite Samuel Francis of Qatar, turns 24 next month. The fastest woman sprinter, Wei Yongli, is 21.
Wang Jianan, who won the men’s long jump, is not even 17 years of age. Compatriots Li Ling and Li Lingwei, winners of the women’s pole vault and javelin events with new meet records, are both aged 24.
Gold medallists at the Asian meet earn a direct entry to next month’s world championships in Moscow, but Chinese head coach Feng Shuyong insisted the idea to bring juniors to Pune was to help them gain experience.
“Most of our top athletes have already qualified for the world championships and are busy preparing for them,” Feng said. “This was a good chance to have our youngsters compete against the best in Asia.”
Yesterday, Belayneh Betlhem Desalegn of the United Arab Emirates clinched a double when she added the 5,000 metres gold medal to the 1,500m title she won on Friday.
Japanese athletes were unstoppable in the 400m hurdles as Yashuhiro Fueki won the men’s event and Satomi Kubokura coasted home in the women’s final.
Xie Zhenye of China took the men’s 200m in 20.87 seconds, while Viktoriya Zyabkina became the first sprinter from Kazakhstan to win the women’s race when she dashed home in 23.62secs.
Musaab Abdelrahman Balla of Qatar emerged an easy winner in the men’s 800m and Wang Chunyu of China won the gold in the women’s event.
Saudi Arabia ended the five-day championships on a high note when Mohammed Alsubiani, Mohammed Ali Albishi, Mohammad Obaid Alsalhi and Yousef Ahmed Masrahi won the men’s 4x400 relay in a new meet record time of three minutes, 02.53 seconds.
