By Mikhil Bhat/Doha


Qatari track and field star Mutaz Barshim said the honour of being adjudged the Best Arab Sportsman of the Year will serve as a huge motivation for him to do well in the future.
Accompanied by his father Essa Mohamed Barshim, a middle distance runner himself in his youth, Barshim received the award at the Arab Sports Press Association Awards ceremony at Doha’s St. Regis Hotel yesterday morning.
“I feel great. I am really happy I won this award. It gives me more motivation to do even better in the future,” the Qatari high jumper said after receiving the award.
“I didn’t expect to win. Actually I don’t have any expectations. I didn’t even know about the ceremony until two days ago when I came to know through my friends. To come here, and win it, and seeing that people are loving and appreciating what I am doing, it is a great motivation. And I also hope to inspire young people in the region in sport,” Barshim added.
Talking about the importance of these awards, he said, “There is no lack of talent in the region. But the talent needs to see how things work. They need to see what gets spotlight. That is what this event is all about. Media plays a very big role in inspiring people to do well.”
Barshim’s high jump efforts are only next to Cuban legend Javier Sotomayor, who also holds the world record.
Sotomayor’s 2.45m jump at Salamanca, Spain, in 1993 has enjoyed a lot of attention thanks to the performances of Barshim and his contemporaries, including Ivan Ukhov of Russia and Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine, in recent times.
Barshim jumped a personal outdoor best of 2.43m in Brussels in September last year and is second only to Sotomayor in the all-time list with Bondarenko at 2.42 and Ukhov at 2.41.
He has won a medal at the last three major competitions—bronze at London 2012, silver at 2013 Moscow Worlds and gold at 2014 Indoor Worlds in Sopot, Poland.
This year in February, the 23-year-old Qatari broke the 2.40m barrier twice indoors, lifting the Asian record to 2.41m at Athlone in Ireland.
Barshim will begin a busy outdoor season in Shanghai given that high jump won’t feature at the opening event in Doha.