DOHA, 13 December 2006 -- Hamdan Awdah Al-Bishi anchored the 4x400m relay team to a season best time of 3:05.31 and the gold medal yesterday to end Saudi Arabia's glorious campaign in athletics competition in the Asian Games at the Khalifa Stadium.
While their teammates failed in their medal bids the Saudi quartet saved their best for last, with Hamdan's cousin Hamed closing the gap with a great run in the third leg of the race which Hamdan finished with a flourish.
"We expected some difficulties in the 4x400m relay race. However, it went really well. Thank God," said a relieved team manager Mohammed Al-Dossari.
"Hamed Al-Bishi supported his team a lot and he was distinguished among his peers with his fast running which made a difference. The Saudi team was in the third position during the race until Hamed took the baton and ran fast which made it easier for the last runner, Hamdan, to continue the race and have the gold medal, he added.
Mohammed Al-Salhi and Ismail Al-Sabani complete the victorious relay team whose magnificent performance enabled them to retain the title. India clinched the silver medal in 3:06.65 and Sri Lanka the bronze in 3:06.97.
It was the fifth gold by the Saudis in the centerpiece track and field event, and by matching the Busan Games gold haul validated the Kingdom's rise as an emerging athletics power in the region.
In was another fruitful day for the Kingdom as karateka Thamer Al-Malki won the bronze medal after beating Timor Leste's Jaime Godinho Soares in the men's kumite 55kg 1/8 final.
In boosting their medal tally to eight golds and five bronzes Saudi Arabia already guaranteed themselves, with still three days left in the competition, of a best ever performance in the history of the Asian Games. In the 2002 Busan Games the country had a 7-1-1 medal tally.
On the final day of athletics, the 4x100m team of 100 meters gold medalist Yahya Habeeb, Mohammed Al-Fardan, Yahya Al-Ghahes and Salem Al-Yami could only finish sixth in 40.18, robbing Habeeb of a chance of a double gold which Hamdan achieved. Mohammed Majrashi, 23, failed in his medal bid as well, finishing a poor 15th in the men's triple jump. Ali Al-Jadani placed 11th in the men's javelin throw final.
"I was expecting a better performance and a medal from Al-Jadani today. I think if he performed in the same level he does usually, he would have achieved something. Unfortunately today's results were not good as usual but I hope that we can save the best for last and achieve a medal in the 4x400m relay," said Al-Dossari.
"The competition was strong today and thank God we got the bronze medal," said Khalid Fadwa, karate team manager. "I expect a gold medal from Yahya Maydy who will play tomorrow in men's kumite -70kg 1/16 final. He is the strongest among his three teammates and he was the No.1 Gulf karate player in 2005 in addition to other medals he achieved in his sporting life," he said.
The Saudi handball team finished 8th following their 32-31 defeat from Bahrain yesterday at Al-Gharrafa Indoor Hall.
The Saudi riders failed to duplicate their golden finish in the team show jumping as they missed out on the medals in yesterday's individual rounds. Qatar's Yousuf Ahmad Ali Al Rumaihi took the gold medal, Taipei's Jasmine Man Shao Chen the silver and Korea's Jung Hyun Joo the bronze.
Prince Abdullah Al-Saud said the competition was a bit tough with the participation of countries like Korea, UAE and Qatar, but, "we all worked hard and trained very well for it, and thank God we did well at the team event," he said.
The prince also congratulated all the teams who won. Khaled Al-Eid too was happy with the Qatari's victory and congratulated him for securing the gold medal.
At the Al-Sadd Aquatic Center the Saudi water polo team surprised themselves when they outplayed Korea 14-11 in the men's Classifications (5th-8th) match 23.
The win ended a string of losses against Uzbekistan 4-14, Japan 6-16 , and China 2- 14. They won their first match against Hong Kong 19-9.
By Lulwa Shalhoub
© Arab News 2006
