It’s becoming a familiar and much sought-after routine at athletics venues around the world: Abderrahman Samba wins a race, hugs his coach, grabs a Qatari flag and breaks into a celebratory jig in front of fans sitting close to the finish line.
Does he have to do it, the dance part, because his surname happens to be Samba?
“Maybe,” he said, flashing a smile, after winning the 400m hurdles gold last night in Jakarta and smashing the Asian Games record in the process.
“This is my biggest win so far, my first Asian Games gold at my first attempt. I couldn’t be happier,” he added following a blistering run at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, his time of 47.66 seconds eclipsing the previous mark of 48.82 set by Saudi Arabia’s Hadi Soua’an al-Somaily in Busan in 2002.
With steeplechaser Yasser Bagharab adding a silver later, Qatar moved up three notches on the medals table to 17th with three gold, three silver and one bronze in the bag.
A booming finish looks likely on the cards as the Games enter the final straight, although it would be stretching the imagination a bit to think Qatar would surpass their tally of 10 gold won at Incheon four years ago.
For the moment, however, let’s celebrate Samba, who seems destined for greatness under coach Hennie Kotze.
The 23-year-old had made it amply clear that his first Asian Games meant a lot to him, saying it was an honour to be part of the country’s contingent at his first multi-sport event and trying to win the gold.
He was so caught up in the emotion of his success last night that he was at a loss for words and didn’t seem to know who was placed second when asked what he thought of India’s Dharun Ayyaswamy who won the silver with 48.96, more than a second behind. Takatoshi Abe of Japan bagged the bronze in 49.12
“Sorry, I didn’t notice,” Samba said, sounding not in the least arrogant but slightly embarrassed. “I mean in a big race you are racing against yourself. You are so focused that when you win you sometimes don’t notice who was behind you.”
Samba and Kotze are plotting an assault on Kevin Young’s world record of 46.78 seconds set at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, hoping it comes at the IAAF World Championships in Doha next year.
The Asian Games race was part of that plan and Kotze was all smiles at having got the continental gold out of their way.
“It’s going to be a memory of a lifetime to work for Qatar and to see my guy winning the gold medal at the Asian Games,” the South African said.
“I am very happy with his time. He did it in style, he broke the championship record, he is very consistent.”
Kotze added that Samba is in line for a second possible gold when the 4x400m relay is held today.
“He will be running the first lap in the 4x400m relay. Hopefully, it will help Qatar win another gold.”
Meanwhile, the young Bagharab clocked 8mins28.21secs to bag the 3,000m steeplechase silver behind Iran’s Hossein Keyhani who timed 8:22.79. Japan’s Kazuya Shiojiri was third in 8:29.42.
Qatar’s Ahmed Bedeir failed to impress in the javelin throw, finishing sixth among 13 participants with a throw of 78.23 metres.
The field was totally outclassed by India’s Neeraj Chopra who did 88.06m for the gold, ahead of China’s Qizhen Liu who managed 82.22, while Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem took bronze with a distance of 80.75.
The 20-year-old Chopra, who carried India’s flag at the opening ceremony, had already posted the best throw by an Asian with an impressive 87.43 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Doha in May. The Commonwealth Games champion bettered even that last night, leaving the others scrapping for lesser honours.
“The competition was quite tough. I am happy with my performance,” said the long-haired star.
China’s Wang Yu leapt 2.30 metres to claim the gold in the men’s high jump, ahead of South Korea’s Woo Sang-hyeok whose 2.28 fetched him the silver. Syrian Majd Eddin Ghzal and Japan’s Naoto Tobe both cleared 2.24 to share the bronze.
Vietnam’s Bui Thi Thu Thao took the women’s long jump gold with her season’s best leap of 6.55m. India’s Neena Varakil won silver while the bronze was claimed by China’s Xu Xiaoling.
Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the men’s 400m hurdles final during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday. (AFP)
