Abubaker Kaki of Sudan retain's 800m title (© Getty Images)
Abubaker Kaki became the first man since the Kenyan great Paul Ereng (the 1989 and 1991 champion) to successfully retain this title after producing a totally dominant front-running display.
The Sudanese athlete, who became the youngest ever winner of a World Indoor title in Valencia two years ago, once again demonstrated his prodigious talent to land gold in 1:46.23.
Boaz Lalang, 21, of Kenyan earned a deserved silver medal in 1:46.39 with Poland's Adam Kszczot, 20, rounding out a youthful podium in 1:46.69 for bronze.
Many an 800m race, particulary indoors, is packed with incident not this one however, although part of that was down to Kaki's excellence. From the gun he sprinted to the front of the field, where he loves to control the race tempo.
He passed 200m in 24.96 tracked by Lalang, Kszczot and Ismail Ahmed Ismail, the second of the Sudanese athletes. Kaki led through halfway in 52.15 and also headed the field at three-quarter distance with the order of the lead four remaining unchanged.
On the final bend Kaki's pre-eminence appeared under threat when Lalang crept closer to the leader, but the defending champion responsed, gritted his teeth and held off the challenge.
Ismail, the Olympic silver medallist, was also inching close to Kszczot but he resisted to become the first ever Pole to win a medal in this event. Ismail had to settle for fourth in 1:46.90. Jakub Holusa of the Czech Republic (1.47.28) and Luis Alberto Marco (1:48.99) were only part players in the final and finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
In the wake of his success Kaki hoped a second straight World indoor title could act as a springboard to greater outdoor glory. "I came here o win I like Qatar," he said. "All went according to plan but this is only the start for me and I want to win more medals in the future. The ultimate goal is the Olympic Games in London."
Lalang, too, also had ambitious goals for the future.
"The medal will propel my career and showed I can run well at the World Championships and Olympics,"said Lalang. "I will now prepare for the summer, target 1:42-1.43 and make Kenyan proud at the African Championships."
Steve Landells for the IAAF
