Qatar’s Abubaker Haydar Abdalla (right) poses with the other podium winners of men’s 800m.
Doha, Qatar: Abderrahman Samba and Bassem Hemeida reaffirmed their dominance in Asia by clinching gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s 400m hurdles, securing a brilliant 1-2 finish for Qatar at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, yesterday.
Abubaker Haydar Abdalla added to Qatar’s medal tally with a bronze in the men’s 800m as Al Annabi wrapped up their campaign on a high, finishing joint fourth in the overall standings alongside Kazakhstan with a total of three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Bassem Hemeida poses with his silver medal.
China topped the medal table with 19 gold, nine silver, and four bronze medals, followed by India with eight gold, 10 silver and six bronze medals.
Japan finished third with five gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze medals.
Asian record holder Samba clocked 48.00 seconds to win gold in a closely contested 400m hurdles final, while Hemeida surged late to claim silver in 49.44 seconds. Chinese Taipei’s Chung Wei Lin secured the bronze, finishing just 0.203 seconds behind Hemeida.
The result mirrored the Qatari duo’s performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, where they also finished first and second.
Samba’s victory was Qatar’s third track gold in Gumi. He also anchored the men’s 4x400m relay team to victory, teaming up with Hemeida, Hatim Aitoulaghazi and Ammar Ismail Ibrahim. Earlier, Ibrahim had clinched Qatar’s first gold at the Asian Championships by winning the men’s 400m final.
Abderrahman Samba competes during the men’s 400m hurdles final.
In the men’s 800m, Abdalla secured the bronze with a time of 1:45.20. Kuwait’s Ebrahim Alzofairi won gold in 1:44.59, while Iran’s Ali Amirian took silver with a time of 1:44.97.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Seifeldin Heneida Abdesalam, recently named the Best U20 Athlete at the Asian Awards in Gumi, narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the men’s pole vault. He cleared 5.62m to finish fourth.
The Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena won gold with a 5.77m clearance, followed by China’s Huang Bokai (5.72m) and Thailand’s Patsapong Amsamarng (5.67m), who earned silver and bronze respectively.
Qatar Athletics Federation President Mohammed Issa Al-Fadala praised the national team’s impressive performance in Gumi. In a social media post, he said the athletes once again brought pride to the nation, overcoming challenges and raising Qatar’s flag high.
He also extended his gratitude to the Qatar Olympic Committee, led by H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, for its continued support, calling it the driving force behind the team’s success.
