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| September 22, 2003 | Monday | Rajab 24, 1424 |
Sensational defeat for champion Shaheen
MANILA, Sept 21: World champion Saif Safed Shaheen bit the dust on Sunday as he was sensationally beaten in the Asian athletics championships men’s 1,500 meters final following his shock withdrawal from the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The Kenyan transplant, now running for Qatar, made a bold gamble by ceding his favorite discipline to Busan Asian Games champion Khamis Abdulla in hopes of doubling Qatar’s gold medal haul in two track events held 75 minutes apart.
Abdulla duly delivered, but Shaheen, once known as Stephen Cherono and the winner of steeplechase gold at the Paris world championships last month, sprinted too early and was beaten by eventual winner Ramzi Rashid of Bahrain, the reigning men’s 1,500m Asian Games champion.
Shaheen made his ill-timed burst on the 900m mark, only to be overhauled by Rashid as they began the final lap.
The 20 year-old, fifth in the 1,500m event at the Lausanne Super Grand Prix in July, stepped on the gas but his tank was empty as Rashid, 23, had the stronger finishing kick.
The Bahraini runner won in 3mins 41.66secs, while Shaheen settled for the silver in 3.42.79. Japan’s Fumikazu Kobayashi had threatened Shaheen but settled for third in 3.42.96.
Abdulla led from the front for most of the way and left the competition for dead in the last 300m to win in 8mins 51.60secs, relegating Wu Wen-Chien of Chinese-Taipei to the silver in 8:55.38, while Japan’s Yasunori Uchitomi took bronze in 8:56.31.
It was the day for Middle Eastern athletes to shine as Kuwait also won two gold medals.
Ali Izenkawi, 19 year-old son of a Hungarian long jumper and a Kuwaiti shot put specialist, won the hammer throw gold with a best effort of 70.62m.
Japan’s Hiroaki Doi took silver in 70.11m, while Dilshod Nazarov won Tajikistan’s first medal in the games with a heave of 69.90m.
Fawzi Al Shammari doubled up Kuwait’s golden harvest by winning the men’s 400m final in 45.16secs.
Hamdan al-Bishi of Saudi Arabia settled for second in 45.39, while Yuki Yamaguchi of Japan’s 46.18 was good for bronze.
China added to their four golds by taking the men’s 100m and 110m hurdles crowns, as well as the women’s pole vault and the 100m hurdles.
Results:
3,000 meters steeplechase men:
Final: 1. Khamis Abdulla (QAT) 8mins 51.60secs; 2. Wu Wen-Chien (TPE) 8:55.38; 3. Yasunori Uchitomi (JPN) 8:56.31
4x100meter relay Men
Final: 1. Japan (Kazuhiro Tamura, Tatsuro Yoshino, Yusuke Omae, Takayuki Kon) 39.54secs; 2. China (Chen Haijian, Shen Yunbao, Yang Yaozu, He Jun) 39.63; 3. India (Sanjoy Ghosh, Anil Kumar, Piyush Kumar, Amit Kumar Saha) 39.93
Discus throw Women
Final: 1. Li Yanfeng (Chn) 61.87m; 2. Neelam Singh (Ind) 58.64; 3. Xu Shaoyang (Chn) 58.13
Heptathlon
Final: 1. Irina Naumenkko (Kaz) 5,845pts; 2. Yuki Nakata (Jpn) 5,723; 3. Shen Shengfei (Chn) 5,633
10,000 meters men
Final: 1. Ahmad Hassan Abdullah (QAT) 28mins 45.64secs; 2. Abdulhak Zakaria (BRN) 30:04.13; 3. Eduardo Buenavista (PHI) 30:06.29
High jump women
Final: 1. Nhung Bui Thi (VIE) 1.88m; 2. Miyuki Aoyama (JPN) 1.84
3. Chaipech Noeng-Ruthai (THA) 1.84 (on countback)
1,500 meters men
Final: 1. Rashid Ramzi (BRN) 3mins 41.66secs; 2. Saif Safed Shaheen (QAT) 3:42.79; 3. Fumikazu Kobayashi (JPN) 3:42.96.—AFP
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