News16 Feb 2008


Asian record for Alkhauwaildi, Paulose completes double as Asian Indoor Champs conclude in Doha

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Asian Indoor Championships 800/1500m champion Sinimol Paulose of India (r) (© AFP)

Doha, Qatar Indian Sinimol Paulose’s fantastic 800m/1500m double and an Asian indoor long jump record by Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Alkhauwaildi were the highlights on the third and final day of action at the 3rd Asian Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar on Saturday.
 
In the other day’s other races, Bahrain’s Yousef Saad Kamel returned back to winning ways with victory in the men’s 800m. Qatari athletes, led by race winner Sultan Zaman, took three of the top four places in the men’s 3000m.
 
11 year-old Long Jump record falls

The top performance of the final day in Doha came in the men’s Long Jump where Alkhauwaildi jumped a new Asian indoor record of 8.24m. With compatriot and Asian Games champion Hussein Taher Al Saba having an off day, the 23-year old rose to the occasion by first clinching victory with 8.22m on his third attempt and then producing a dramatic leap to jump just one centimeter further than Geng Huang’s mark set 11 years ago in Tianjin, China.

“I thank God for the victory,” said an ecstatic Alkhauwaildi. “I hope to jump well in the world indoor championships next month.”

Paulose adds 800m title

The second top performance of the final day was Indian Sinimol Paulose’s victory in the women’s 800m, her second gold of the championships after her victory in the 1500m on the opening day.
 
Viktoriya Yalovtsava did much of the front running early on in the race, but when Paulose powered forward in the last lap, the Kazakh had little left in the tank to prevent a third middle distance gold for India. Paulose crossed the line in 2:03.43, a championship record and a time which dipped under the qualifying A standard for the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain.
 
“I am happy medal -wise but not time-wise,” said Paulose, who expected to run nearer two minutes in Doha. “I have qualified for both events [800m and 1500m], but I have not decided which event to contest in Valencia.”
 
Paulose dedicated her victory to the work of her Belarussian coach Nicholas Snesarev. “He is a very good coach and one of the best we have in India. This is his victory as much as mine.”

On the mend, Kamel back with strong victory

Unlike the women’s race, the men’s 800m was a tactically fought battle between race favorite Yousef Saad Kamel of Bahrain and Iran’s Ehsan Mohajershojei. The tall Iranian hit the front in the second of four laps and looked comfortable going into the final lap before Kamel overtook the Asian Games 800m bronze medalist with only 100m left.
 
Kamel held off the desperate chase from Mohajershojei to take victory in 1:48.03, a championship record, but a slow time which betrayed the lack of depth in the field.
 
“It was a slow race and I decided to wait until the end,” confirmed the race winner. “I had a bad 2007. I had leg problems and personal problems. Many of my problems are ok this year and I hope to do well in Valencia.”
 
Zaman leads Qatari dominance in 3000m

Contrary to many of the events in Doha over the last three days, the men’s 3000m was a one-team affair with athletes from Qatar taking three of the top four places. The winner of the race was Sultan Zaman who clinching a dramatic victory from Surenda Singh in 7:49.31.
 
With three laps left, Zaman and compatriots James Kurui and Felix Kibore moved ahead of the two chasing Indians. But while Kumar Sandip dropped off the pace, Singh stuck with the front trio.
 
A lap later, Singh even took the lead and powered the pace. His move forward dropped both Kurui and Kibore as the race turned into a two-man battle at the bell.
 
But despite the Indian’s best attempts, Zaman powered forward with contemptuous ease to take victory in 7:49.31, a championship record and an IAAF qualifying A standard for Valencia on his indoor debut.
 
“I am very happy with my performance,” said Zaman. “I think I can run 7:35 with proper training indoors. I will be training hard for a big performance in world indoors.”
 
First golds for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan

Three nations got on top of the medal podium today with Saudi Arabia in particular having an impressive with two gold medals. After Mohammed Alkhauwaildi’s victory in the men’s jump earlier in the evening, the men’s 4 x 400m Relay team brought gold for the Saudis with a 3:14.25 victory ahead of India and host nation Qatar.

Kyrgyzstan’s Efimenka Tatiana (women’s High Jump) and Kuwait’s Ahmed Gholoum each won gold for their nations after 1.91m and 18.55m efforts respectively.

India top medal standings

India won two gold medals in the last two events to storm to the top of the medal standings. Joseph Vinod Pulimoottil took the men’s Heptathlon with a total of 5561 points from seven events. And India’s women completed an impressive showing in these championships with gold in the 4X400m Relay.

At the end of three thrilling days of action in Doha, India topped the medal standings with 17, ahead of China and Kazakhstan, the surprise package of these championships who claimed a total of 14 medals.

Elshadai Negash for the IAAF

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