Qatar added two more silvers to their tally on the penultimate day of the 18th Arab Athletic Championships here at the Qatar Sports Club yesterday.
Qatar have thus swelled their medals tally to six with two gold, three silver and a bronze.
Rashid Ahmed gave Qatar the first silver of the evening with a leap of 16.40m in the men’s triple jump. The gold went to Asim Neema of Algeria with 17.01, while the bronze was bagged by Mohammed Yusif of Bahrain with 16.17.
“I’m very happy with this performance as my concentration today was good,” said an elated Rashid after the medals ceremony adding that he was keen on carrying his good form into the Asian Championships.
“I wanted to do well in the Asian Championships. I have not qualified for the Moscow World Championships but doing well in the Asian Championships will be a big boost. I have improved tremendously on my physical condition and I really want to do well from now on.”
Silver medallist Mohamed Ebrahim of Qatar (L) poses with gold medallist Ehab Abdulrehman of Egypt (C) and bronze medallist Abdulla Adnan of Kuwait after the medals ceremony for the men’s javelin throw.
The second silver for the hosts came in the men’s javelin throw. Mohamed Ebrahim’s throw of 71.05m in his first attempt was enough to seal the second spot. Ehab Abdulrehman of Egypt, with a Championship record of 79:17m, won gold while Abdulla Adnan of Kuwait with 68.16m claimed the bronze.
Another championship record was broken in the women’s 4x100m relay. The Moroccan team comprising Shenak Jumma, Haya al-Mubaraki, Lamiya Lebaz and Yumna Hajaji came up with an impressive victory, setting a new championship record of 46.59secs. The previous record of 46.63secs was held by Algeria.
The silver went to Tunisian team comprising of Ayah Abir al-Barkavi, Rabiya al-Razki, Salma and Abdul Hamid, who clocked 48.22. Oman’s Mazoon Khalfan, Shanoona al-Habsi, Rasha Mohamed al-Malki and Baseena Eid Oman claimed bronze with 48.42.
“We had won gold here in the GCC Championships last month, so this is a double delight for us. It was good team effort from the rest of my teammates. We were here to win nothing less than gold and we managed to do that,” said an elated Haya al-Mubaraki.
It was disappointing to see just three teams taking the field in the men’s 4x100m relay. Oman comprising Fahad Khamis, Abdullah al-Suli, Barkat Mubarak and Ahmed al-Merhabi crossed the tape in 39.83sec to clinch gold. Iraq’s Zaffar Jassim, Jassim Mohamed, Mohamed Talib and Mohamed Hassan won silver with 41.35, while Bahrain’s Ahmed Matter, Ali Omar, Salman Dahwood and Mohamed Jassim (41.72) claimed bronze.
“It was a good opportunity for us to qualify for the world and we could have beaten that record had all the countries would have participated. You saw we finished with such a huge margin. We narrowly missed the championship record and we didn’t go full throttle,” said an overjoyed Fahad Khamis adding that he was disappointed to see just three teams take part in the relay.
“I don’t know why most of the countries didn’t participate maybe they wanted to participate in the 4x400 relay. Don’t know what exactly happened but it was a blow for us as we could have given a short for the Moscow world’s qualification.”
3000m Women’s steeplechase: Saleema Wali Elmi (Mar) 9:47.33 CR, 2. Rous Jabeet (Bah) 9:52.47, 3. Amina Batish (Alg) 9:54.70 Previous record Hanan Ahdou (Mar)9:53.28; Women’s Hammer Throw: 1. Sara bin Saad (Tun) 60.96, 2. Zawvina Bou ZVabara (Alg) 58.04, 3. Rana Ahmed Taha (Egy) 56.77; Women’s 1000m: 1. Shetai Ashati (Bah) 34:25.82, Kanra Dahmani (Alg) 35:13.86, 3. Karima Jassim (Bah) 35.50.95; Men’s Javelin: 1. Ehab Abdulrehman (Egy) 79:17 CR, Mohamed Ebrahim (Qat) 71.05, Abdulla Adnan (Kuw) 68.16; Men’s 4x100 Relay: 1. Oman (Fahad Khamis, Abdullah al Suli, Barkat Mubarak, Ahmed al-Merhabi) 39.83, 2. Iraq Zaffar Jassim, Jassim Mohamed, Mohamed Talib, Mohamed Hassan 41.35, 3. Bahrain (Ahmed Matter, Ali Omar, Salman Dahwood, Mohamed Jassim) 41.72; Women’s 4x100 Relay: Morocco (Shenak Jumma, Haya al-Mubaraki, Lamiya Lebaz, Yumna Hajaji) 46.59 CR, 2. Tunisia (Ayah Abir al-Barkavi, Rabiya al-Razki, Salma, Abdul Hamid) 48.22, 3. Oman (Mazoon Khalfan, Shanoona al-Habsi, Rasha Mohamed al-Malki, Baseena Eid Oman) 48.42; Men’s triple jump: Asim Neema (Alg) 17.01, 2. Rashid Ahmed (Qat) 16.40, 3. Mohammed Yusif (Bah) 16.17; Women’s Pole Vault: 1. Sareen al-Batli (Tun) 4.10, 2. Nasreen Dinar (Bah) 3.90, 3. Darra al-Mahfoozi (Tun) 3.60
