Doha, Qatar: Mutaz Barshim’s brilliance turns out to be the best once again.
On a most successful day for Qatar in Hangzhou where Al Annabi athletes clinched four medals, the reigning Olympic champion stole the limelight leaping to a high jump gold after equaling his own Asian Games record of 2.35m.
Qatar also notched up two silver medals finishing runners-up in men’s 4x400m final and equestrian team events, while squash star Abdulla Al Tamimi secured a bronze medal yesterday.
Yesterday’s four medals helped Qatar jumped to 14th place in the standings with four gold, six silver and three bronze medals.
Qatar's Mutaz Barshim competes in the men's high jump final during the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, yesterday. AFP
Barshim looked a class above as he clinched his third Asiad gold after victories in 2010 and 2014 following a perfect show at HOC Stadium.
The three-time world champion, who skipped the Diamond League final in Eugene to prepare for the Asian Games, was in sizzling form as he cleared the heights of 2.19m, 2.23m, 2.26m, 2.29m, 2.31m, 2.33 and 2.35 all in his first attempts.
With his chief rival Woo Sang-hyeok of South Korea settled for a silver medal after failing to go beyond the 2.33m mark, Barshim attempted to break his own record he first set at Incheon 2014, but did not succeed in topping the 2.37m mark in all his remaining chances. Japan’s Tomohiro Shinno secured bronze medal with his season’s best of 2.29m.
Abderrahman Samba, Bassem Hemeida, Ashraf Osman and Ismail Abakar celebrate after claiming the silver medal in the men’s 4x400m final.
“When I was young, in 2006, the previous Asian Games before I competed, I was a volunteer holding the basket for the high jumpers. I really wanted to win that. So winning today my third gold after a bad injury (in 2018), I should be really happy and satisfied,” Barshim said after the win.
The 32-year-old with his cabinet filled with trophies after multiple global, continental and regional triumphs is hungry for more success with next year’s Paris Olympics his next big target.
“We are very greedy as athletes and always want more, more, more. That’s the nature of it and I love it. You need to push yourself to the limit,” said Barshim.
Qatar’s Bassem Hassan Mohammed, Faleh Al Ajmi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and Rashid Towaim Ali Al Marri combined to claim a silver medal in the team showjumping event.
In the men’s 4x400m final, Abderrahman Samba and Bassem Hemeida, who sealed a historic 1-2 for Qatar in men’s 400m hurdles on Tuesday, teamed up with Ashraf Osman and Ismail Abakar to claim a silver medal with a time of 3:02.05. Samba set the stage for a runner-up position with a fast 42.40 secs run as India won gold with their national record of 3:01.58.
Sri Lanka also set their national record winning a bronze medal with a time of 3:02.55.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Mohamad Algarni, who won 1500m gold on Sunday, finished fifth in the men’s 5000 final after clocking 13:37.49 with Bahrain’s Birhanu Yemataw Balew taking gold with Asian Games record of 13:17.40.
In the team showjumping event, Qatar’s Bassem Hassan Mohammed, Faleh Al Ajmi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and Rashid Towaim Ali Al Marri combined to claim a silver medal with an overall time of 117.84 in the jump off with four penalties. Saudi Arabia emerged champions with a flawless 111.83 while UAE secured bronze medal clocking 120.58 with 12 faults. The individual event will take place tomorrow.
Qatar squash star Abdulla Al Tamimi won the bronze medal after going down to his Malaysian counterpart in yesterday's semi-final.
Al Tamimi, meanwhile, had to settle for a bronze medal after he lost to Malaysia’s Eain Yow NG 12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 5-11 in a 52-minute semi-final.
“Eain Yow played very well and took advantage of my mistakes. He did everything right in the match. Even though my target was to win a gold medal I am content with a bronze. I am looking forward to bounce back strongly and win titles for Qatar,” said Al Tamimi.
Qatar handball team will look for a hat-trick of Asian Games titles as they meet rivals Bahrain in a mouth-watering final at At Zhejiang Gongshang University Sports Centre today.