Kenji Narisako of Japan takes a dominating 400m hurdles win in Guangzhou (© Jiro Mochizuki)
Guangzhou, ChinaThe past three days had seen the unrelenting domination of the Chinese in the 18th Asian Athletics Championships. Friday (13) proved different, however. Japan took over the leading role winning five of the 11 gold medals at stake.
On a cold, windy day, the Japanese, however, suffered a severe setback, too, with Asia’s season-leader in the 200m, Shinji Takahira, being beaten by the lesser known 20-year-old sprinter Omar Juma Al-Safa of the United Arab Emirates. The reverse was in keeping with the trend seen in these Championships so far with Japanese sprinters, favoured to win, being jolted in their pet events.
Takahira was off to a slower start than Al-Salfa, who was able to maintain the momentum during the last 30 metres to hold off the threat from the Japanese. Still it was close at the finish with Al-Salfa dipping fractionally ahead of Takahira.
The timings were ordinary, with Al-Salfa at 21.07, Takahira 21.08 and Hitoshi Saito 21.10. The 2005 champion, Hamdan Hamed Al-Bishi of Saudi Arabia came fourth. Both Takahira and Saito have dipped under 20.50 seconds this season.
Zhou Haiyan completes mid distance double
Form, pre-race reputation and season lists also mattered very little in the women’s 800 metres in which China’s Zhou Haiyan, winner of the 1500m earlier, had the last laugh in a furious ‘kick’ and dash sequence down the finishing straight, stopping the clock in 2:04.89.
The top woman in Asia this season, Japanese Ruriko Kubo finished seventh in 2:08.38 while India’s hope, Tintu Luka, who was in the leading duo much of the time, came sixth in 2:07.61. Defending champion Truong Thanh Hang of Vietnam was pushed to the third place by Kazakh Margarita Matsko with just 15 metres to the finish.
Kazakhstan’s Viktoriya Yalovtseyeva who took the runners through an opening lap of 1:00.01 and led up to the 600-metre mark, finished last.
Kawasaki upsets favoured Chinese in women’s 20Km Walk
Japan’s gold hunt was triggered in the morning by woman walker Mayuki Kawasaki who won the 20Km event against a tough challenge posed by home favourites Liu Hong and Yang Yanwei. Liu, who led till the six-kilometre mark was disqualified and the Japanese led from then on until the finish to score victory in 1:30:12. Yang Yanwei claimed the silver and Kazakh Svetlana Tolstaya the bronze.
Japanese Satomi Kubokura retained her title in the 400m Hurdles while favourite Kenji Narisako obliged in the men’s 400m hurdles, winning effortlessly in 49.22 seconds.
“I am in top form this year,” said Kubokura, who won by more than half a second in 56.62. “The weather in Guangzhou changes too quickly. It’s much colder than I though before, so it affected my performance a little,” said the Japanese.
The fight in the men’s event was for the silver with Indian Joseph Abraham, running in lane eight, prevailing over the better-rated former champion Sultan Mubarak Al-Nubi of Qatar. Al-Nubi, a former World junior champion and World Cup silver medallist, has, incidentally, made a comeback after missing two seasons.
“I placed fifth (in heats) in the World Championships in Berlin four months ago. Now I feel much better,” said Narisako, who had also won in the last Asian Games.
Momomo Takahashi and decathlete Hiromasa Tanaka added to the Japanese gold collection.
“There is indeed some pressure in the competition since the Japanese team was determined to win this medal,” said Takahashi, hinting at the reverses suffered by her team in the sprints. She took top honours in the 200m clocking 23.53. “Due to the low temperature I didn’t get the timing I expected,” she said.
Tanaka’s strong showing in pole vault (5.00m) and javelin (59.82m) catapulted him to the top after he had trailed fourth on the opening day. The Japanese finished with 7515 points with Iranian Hadi Sepehrzad settling for the silver for the second successive championships, at 7262 points.
Chinese Zhu Hengjun came third while his team-mate Liu Haibo, the overnight leader, no-heighted in the Pole Vault and pulled out. The top Chinese, Qi Haifeng and Asian record holder Dmitriy Karpov were absent here.
Iranian Sajad Moradi won the men’s 800m (1:48.58) in a close finish with Kuwaiti Mohammed Al-Azemi with Iraq’s Adnan Taees Akkar claiming the bronze by a hundredth of a second margin from Indian Prakash Verma.
The men’s Triple Jump competition was shorn of the expected glamour by the absence of Asian record holder Li Yanxi of China. He was among the initial entries but at confirmation stage his name did not figure.
Kazakhs Roman Valiyev, who opened with 16.70m, and Yevgeniy Ektov (16.49m) seemed headed for gold and silver when Chinese Zhu Shijing sneaked in with a 16.67. in the last round for the silver.
Defending champion Renjith Maheswary, who was tied with Zhu Shijing until the last round, with 16.40m, produced one last-ditch effort of 16.48m, aided by a wind speed of 4.4m/s only to see the Chinese going past him and eventually finding himself a centimetre short of Ektov.
Zhu Shjing had jumped 17.41m in the National Games in Jinan last month when Li Yanxi registered an Asian record of 17.59m. It is the second time that Li Yanxi has pulled out of the Asian championships after initially entering. In Amman, where he was absent, Maheswary had taken the title with a wind-aided 17.19m. Here, the winds did cause problems but the winning marks by the medallists were within legal limits.
China’s best known woman discus thrower Song Aimin had a scare when she trailed team-mate Ma Xuejun, a finalist at the Berlin World Championships. Ma had opened with 63.63m. Song Aimin, fourth in the Beijing Olympics and fifth in the Berlin Worlds, however, produced her best in the last round, a 63.90m that settled the argument. Indian Krishna Poonia won the bronze with a 59.84m.
Sri Lankan Manjula Wijesekara was the surprise winner of the men’s High Jump gold on countback with favourite Huang Haiqiang, the 2006 World Junior champion from the host country. Both cleared 2.23m on their first attempts and failed at 2.26m. The 25-year-old Sri Lankan, now based in the US on a scholarship, had cleared all his heights on his first attempts while Huang had one failure at 2.20m.
Kazakh Vitaliy Tsykunov, the recent Asian Indoor Games champion, won the bronze at 2.20m.
By an IAAF Correspondent
Leading results -
Men: 200m: 1. Omar Al Salfa (UAE) 21.07, 2. Shinji Takahira (Jpn) 21.08, 3. Hitoshi Sato (Jpn) 21.10.
800m: 1. Sadjad Moradi (Iri) 1:48.58, 2. Mohammad Al-Azemi (Kuw) 1:48.93, 3. Adnan Taees Akkar (Irq) 1:49.00.
400m hurdles: 1. Kenji Narisako (Jpn) 49.22, 2. Joseph G. Abraham (Ind) 49.96, 3. Sultan Mubarak Al-Nubi (Qat) 50.19.
High jump: 1. Manjula Wijesekara (Sri) 2.23, 2. Huang Haiqiang (Chn) 2.23, 3. Vitaliy Tsykunov (Kaz) 2.20.
Triple jump: 1. Roman Valiyev (Kaz) 16.70, 2. Zhu Shujing (Chn) 16.67, 3. Yevgeniy Ektov (Kaz) 16.49.
Decathlon: 1. Hiromasa Tanaka (Jpn) 7515, 2. Hadi Sepehrzad (Iri) 7262, 3. Zhu Hengjun (Chn) 7200.
Women: 200m: 1. Momoko Takahashi (Jpn) 23.53, 2. Vu Thi Huong (Vie) 23.61, 3. Jiang Lan (Chn) 23.65.
800m: 1. Zhou Haiyan (Chn) 2:04.89, 2. Margarita Matsko (Kaz) 2:05.31, 3. Truong Thanh Hang (Vie) 2:05.33.
400m hurdles: 1. Satomi Kubokura (Jpn) 56.62s, 2. Noraseela Mohammed Khalid (Mas) 57.15, 3. Natlya Asanova (Kaz) 59.37.
Discus: 1. Song Aimin (Chn) 63.90m, 2. Ma Xuejun (Chn) 63.63, 3. Krishna Poonia (Ind) 59.84.
20km walk: 1. Mayumi Kawasaki (Jpn) 1:30:12, 2. Yang Yawei (Chn) 1:34.11, 3. Svetlana Tolstaya (Kaz) 1:36:42.
Click here for full results
On a cold, windy day, the Japanese, however, suffered a severe setback, too, with Asia’s season-leader in the 200m, Shinji Takahira, being beaten by the lesser known 20-year-old sprinter Omar Juma Al-Safa of the United Arab Emirates. The reverse was in keeping with the trend seen in these Championships so far with Japanese sprinters, favoured to win, being jolted in their pet events.
Takahira was off to a slower start than Al-Salfa, who was able to maintain the momentum during the last 30 metres to hold off the threat from the Japanese. Still it was close at the finish with Al-Salfa dipping fractionally ahead of Takahira.
The timings were ordinary, with Al-Salfa at 21.07, Takahira 21.08 and Hitoshi Saito 21.10. The 2005 champion, Hamdan Hamed Al-Bishi of Saudi Arabia came fourth. Both Takahira and Saito have dipped under 20.50 seconds this season.
Zhou Haiyan completes mid distance double
Form, pre-race reputation and season lists also mattered very little in the women’s 800 metres in which China’s Zhou Haiyan, winner of the 1500m earlier, had the last laugh in a furious ‘kick’ and dash sequence down the finishing straight, stopping the clock in 2:04.89.
The top woman in Asia this season, Japanese Ruriko Kubo finished seventh in 2:08.38 while India’s hope, Tintu Luka, who was in the leading duo much of the time, came sixth in 2:07.61. Defending champion Truong Thanh Hang of Vietnam was pushed to the third place by Kazakh Margarita Matsko with just 15 metres to the finish.
Kazakhstan’s Viktoriya Yalovtseyeva who took the runners through an opening lap of 1:00.01 and led up to the 600-metre mark, finished last.
Kawasaki upsets favoured Chinese in women’s 20Km Walk
Japan’s gold hunt was triggered in the morning by woman walker Mayuki Kawasaki who won the 20Km event against a tough challenge posed by home favourites Liu Hong and Yang Yanwei. Liu, who led till the six-kilometre mark was disqualified and the Japanese led from then on until the finish to score victory in 1:30:12. Yang Yanwei claimed the silver and Kazakh Svetlana Tolstaya the bronze.
Japanese Satomi Kubokura retained her title in the 400m Hurdles while favourite Kenji Narisako obliged in the men’s 400m hurdles, winning effortlessly in 49.22 seconds.
“I am in top form this year,” said Kubokura, who won by more than half a second in 56.62. “The weather in Guangzhou changes too quickly. It’s much colder than I though before, so it affected my performance a little,” said the Japanese.
The fight in the men’s event was for the silver with Indian Joseph Abraham, running in lane eight, prevailing over the better-rated former champion Sultan Mubarak Al-Nubi of Qatar. Al-Nubi, a former World junior champion and World Cup silver medallist, has, incidentally, made a comeback after missing two seasons.
“I placed fifth (in heats) in the World Championships in Berlin four months ago. Now I feel much better,” said Narisako, who had also won in the last Asian Games.
Momomo Takahashi and decathlete Hiromasa Tanaka added to the Japanese gold collection.
“There is indeed some pressure in the competition since the Japanese team was determined to win this medal,” said Takahashi, hinting at the reverses suffered by her team in the sprints. She took top honours in the 200m clocking 23.53. “Due to the low temperature I didn’t get the timing I expected,” she said.
Tanaka’s strong showing in pole vault (5.00m) and javelin (59.82m) catapulted him to the top after he had trailed fourth on the opening day. The Japanese finished with 7515 points with Iranian Hadi Sepehrzad settling for the silver for the second successive championships, at 7262 points.
Chinese Zhu Hengjun came third while his team-mate Liu Haibo, the overnight leader, no-heighted in the Pole Vault and pulled out. The top Chinese, Qi Haifeng and Asian record holder Dmitriy Karpov were absent here.
Iranian Sajad Moradi won the men’s 800m (1:48.58) in a close finish with Kuwaiti Mohammed Al-Azemi with Iraq’s Adnan Taees Akkar claiming the bronze by a hundredth of a second margin from Indian Prakash Verma.
The men’s Triple Jump competition was shorn of the expected glamour by the absence of Asian record holder Li Yanxi of China. He was among the initial entries but at confirmation stage his name did not figure.
Kazakhs Roman Valiyev, who opened with 16.70m, and Yevgeniy Ektov (16.49m) seemed headed for gold and silver when Chinese Zhu Shijing sneaked in with a 16.67. in the last round for the silver.
Defending champion Renjith Maheswary, who was tied with Zhu Shijing until the last round, with 16.40m, produced one last-ditch effort of 16.48m, aided by a wind speed of 4.4m/s only to see the Chinese going past him and eventually finding himself a centimetre short of Ektov.
Zhu Shjing had jumped 17.41m in the National Games in Jinan last month when Li Yanxi registered an Asian record of 17.59m. It is the second time that Li Yanxi has pulled out of the Asian championships after initially entering. In Amman, where he was absent, Maheswary had taken the title with a wind-aided 17.19m. Here, the winds did cause problems but the winning marks by the medallists were within legal limits.
China’s best known woman discus thrower Song Aimin had a scare when she trailed team-mate Ma Xuejun, a finalist at the Berlin World Championships. Ma had opened with 63.63m. Song Aimin, fourth in the Beijing Olympics and fifth in the Berlin Worlds, however, produced her best in the last round, a 63.90m that settled the argument. Indian Krishna Poonia won the bronze with a 59.84m.
Sri Lankan Manjula Wijesekara was the surprise winner of the men’s High Jump gold on countback with favourite Huang Haiqiang, the 2006 World Junior champion from the host country. Both cleared 2.23m on their first attempts and failed at 2.26m. The 25-year-old Sri Lankan, now based in the US on a scholarship, had cleared all his heights on his first attempts while Huang had one failure at 2.20m.
Kazakh Vitaliy Tsykunov, the recent Asian Indoor Games champion, won the bronze at 2.20m.
By an IAAF Correspondent
Leading results -
Men: 200m: 1. Omar Al Salfa (UAE) 21.07, 2. Shinji Takahira (Jpn) 21.08, 3. Hitoshi Sato (Jpn) 21.10.
800m: 1. Sadjad Moradi (Iri) 1:48.58, 2. Mohammad Al-Azemi (Kuw) 1:48.93, 3. Adnan Taees Akkar (Irq) 1:49.00.
400m hurdles: 1. Kenji Narisako (Jpn) 49.22, 2. Joseph G. Abraham (Ind) 49.96, 3. Sultan Mubarak Al-Nubi (Qat) 50.19.
High jump: 1. Manjula Wijesekara (Sri) 2.23, 2. Huang Haiqiang (Chn) 2.23, 3. Vitaliy Tsykunov (Kaz) 2.20.
Triple jump: 1. Roman Valiyev (Kaz) 16.70, 2. Zhu Shujing (Chn) 16.67, 3. Yevgeniy Ektov (Kaz) 16.49.
Decathlon: 1. Hiromasa Tanaka (Jpn) 7515, 2. Hadi Sepehrzad (Iri) 7262, 3. Zhu Hengjun (Chn) 7200.
Women: 200m: 1. Momoko Takahashi (Jpn) 23.53, 2. Vu Thi Huong (Vie) 23.61, 3. Jiang Lan (Chn) 23.65.
800m: 1. Zhou Haiyan (Chn) 2:04.89, 2. Margarita Matsko (Kaz) 2:05.31, 3. Truong Thanh Hang (Vie) 2:05.33.
400m hurdles: 1. Satomi Kubokura (Jpn) 56.62s, 2. Noraseela Mohammed Khalid (Mas) 57.15, 3. Natlya Asanova (Kaz) 59.37.
Discus: 1. Song Aimin (Chn) 63.90m, 2. Ma Xuejun (Chn) 63.63, 3. Krishna Poonia (Ind) 59.84.
20km walk: 1. Mayumi Kawasaki (Jpn) 1:30:12, 2. Yang Yawei (Chn) 1:34.11, 3. Svetlana Tolstaya (Kaz) 1:36:42.
Click here for full results
