TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain added five medals at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China yesterday, including two gold medals won by Kemi Adekoya and Birhanu Baleu.
Kemi won the women’s 400m, sharing the podium with fellow Bahraini Salwa Eid Nasser, who won the silver medal. Meanwhile, Baleu won gold in the men’s 10,000 meters.
Saudi Arabia’s star-studded track and field team also won two bronze medals yesterday, with Hajar al-Khaldi in the women’s 100m and Abbas Yusuf Abbas in the men’s 400m.
Bahrain won five medals on the second day of competition in athletics and track and field, taking the total medals won at Hangzhou Asiad to six so far, including three gold, one silver and two bronze. .
This placed them 14th in the official medal standings based on gold medals and 18th based on totals.
Bahrain’s elite athletes are back in action today for the chance to build on their achievements.
In the women’s 400m final, Kemi and Salwa got off to a great start and maintained a strong pace through the final corner.
Both Bahraini riders then headed down the home straight side by side, with Kemi managing to overtake Salwa by a narrow margin. Kemi won with a time of 50.66 seconds and Salwa came in second with a time of 50.92 seconds.
Balibui Shereen Samson of Malaysia won the bronze medal with a time of 52.58 seconds. Kemi won her third Asian Games gold medal, winning the women’s 400m hurdles as well as the same event at the 2014 Asiad Games in Incheon, South Korea.
“I’m really happy to be able to repeat what I know how to do best,” Kemi said after the run.
She will now compete in the women’s 400m hurdles, women’s 4x400m relay, and mixed 4x400m relay, aiming to increase her medal count in Haeju.
Yesterday’s runner-up finish gave Salwa her second silver medal at the Asian Games and her fourth medal overall, as she was returning from injury ahead of this year’s Asian Games.
At the 2018 Jakarta Games, she won a silver medal in the women’s 4x400m relay, and also won gold medals in the women’s 400m and women’s 4x100m relay.
She will next aim for gold in the women’s 200m from today’s first round heat, and will also join Kemi and others in the women’s and mixed 4x400m relay.
In the men’s 10,000m final, Baleu completed the race distance in 28 minutes, 13.62 seconds and won the gold medal.
This was his second Asiad medal in his career. Ballew also won gold in the 5,000 meters in 2018.
Ballew will be hoping to complete an impressive long-distance double in Hangzhou when he defends his title in Wednesday’s 5000m final. Bahrain’s Dawit Fikadu also competed in yesterday’s 10,000m final, but was disqualified for pushing and sabotage.
A fierce battle took place
In the women’s 100m title race, Hajar won the bronze medal in a hotly contested sprint with the toughest finish.
Hajar posted a finishing time of 11.35 seconds, beating Thailand’s Supanich Pool Card by just six thousandths of a second and taking the final podium spot.
China’s Manki Ge won the gold medal in 11.23 seconds, and Singapore’s Veronica Shanti Pereira won the silver medal in 11.27 seconds. Bahrain’s Edion Odion was sixth with a time of 11.54 seconds.
Hajar won her second Asiad medal, adding to her 2018 women’s 4x100m gold medal.
She will be looking to repeat her success this year by racing alongside Eddion, who returns to the track today in the first round heat of the women’s 200m.
In yesterday’s men’s 400m final, Abbas won the bronze medal after sprinting in 45.65 seconds.
The Bahraini athlete was in the lead midway through the home straight, but could not maintain his stride with just a few meters remaining, allowing Saudi Arabia’s Youssef Maslahi to move forward and win in 45.55 seconds. Kentaro Sato of Japan won the silver medal in 45.57 seconds.
Abbas will also compete in the men’s 4x400m relay and will join Kemi and Salwa in the mixed 4x400m relay in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Hajar’s younger brother Saeed Al-Khaldi of Bahrain put up a brave effort in the men’s 100m final yesterday.
He improved on his personal best time of 10.15 seconds to take fifth place, bettering his personal best mark of 10.19 seconds set earlier in the day in the semi-finals and qualifying for medal contention.
Elsewhere on the course yesterday, Bahrain’s Zuhair Aouad qualified for the men’s 1,500m final.
He finished the first round heat in a time of 3 minutes, 56.15 seconds, placing him third, which was the eighth fastest time out of the 12 competitors who advanced. The final is scheduled to start today at 3:30pm Bahrain time.
Bahraini sprinter Aminat Jamal failed to make it past the first round of the women’s 100m hurdles. She finished seventh in her heat with a time of 13.44 seconds.
Other Bahraini athletes aiming for gold today include Abdelrahman Mahmoud, who will compete in the men’s shot put final starting at 2pm Bahrain time, and John Koech, who will compete in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase medal race at 2:15pm Bahrain time. Winfred, who was recently crowned world champion, will be aiming for the gold medal. Yabi will compete in the final at 3:20pm Bahrain time, along with fellow Bahraini Marta Jota, aiming to add Asiad gold to her world title in the women’s 1,500m.
Kemi Adekoya (centre), Salwa Eid Nasser (left) and Valabui Shereen Samson celebrate with their women’s 400m medal.