Qatar won the 4x400 metre relay to claim their fourth gold medal as the curtain fell on the Eighth Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran yesterday.
Qatar’s tally of nine medals, including three silver and two bronze, helped them finish third on the medals tally, behind toppers Kazakhstan (7 gold) and second-placed Iran (5 gold).
The three-day event was held came a month ahead of the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham, which will bring together the biggest names in athletics on the global stage.
Abdelelah Haroun, who had won the 400m gold on Friday, Abdulrahman Samba, Mohamed Nasser and Mohamed Nasser powered Qatar to victory in the relay in a time of 3mins10.08secs, while the Iranian quartet were second in 3:11.68 and Kazakhstan third in 3:11.74.
“It was a tough race but we were always confident,” said Haroun, a bronze winner at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in London last August.
“I am happy to win my second gold of the event,” former junior world champion Haroun added.
Qatar also added a silver to their tally yesterday with Yasser Salem excelling in the 1500m in a time of 3:53.92 behind Iranian gold medallist Amir Moradi who clocked 3:53.78. Fahim Ali, also of Iran, claimed the bronze in 3:54.00. Qatar’s Hamza Driouch finished fifth.
Yasser had also won a silver in the 3000m on the opening day of the competition on Thursday.
Mohamed Issa Fadhala, Secretary-General of the Qatar Athletics Federation, praised the team for their performance.
“It was an excellent show by our athletes. Their show will help them gain confidence ahead of the World Indoors,” he added.
The Qatar 4x400m relay team pose with their gold medals in Tehran yesterday. At right is Yasser Salem who won a silver in the 1500m.
