BAHRAIN struck gold thrice yesterday in swimming and athletics at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Mikhail Arkhangelskiy got their sensational winning streak underway with an historic gold medal in the men’s 50 metres butterfly at Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Reigning Olympic champion and former world champion Winfred Yavi then added a women’s 10,000m title at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, before the quartet of Musa Isah, Aisha Abdullah, Alaa Sami, and ex-world champion Salwa Eid Naser wrapped up Bahrain’s glorious day with gold in the mixed 4x400m relay.
To add to their triumphs, Arkhangelskiy also set a new Asian record while the kingdom’s sprinters clocked an all-time Asiad best in their race.
In attendance for yesterday’s successes were Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) vice-president and the kingdom’s delegation head in Aichi-Nagoya Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, BOC secretary general Faris Al Kooheji, and other delegation officials.
The gold medals brought the kingdom’s tally to five so far in this year’s Asian Games, in which Bahrain are taking part in 20 sports. The gold medals added to the two silver medals won in mixed martial arts. The kingdom’s delegation therefore climbed to 10th on the medal table as the top-ranked Arab nation to date.
In swimming yesterday, Arkhangelskiy claimed his sensational victory in the men’s 50m butterfly final to secure Bahrain’s first-ever Asiad medal in swimming.
He completed his race in a blistering 22.91 seconds, narrowly beating out the rest of the high-quality field. Shoon Mitsunaga of Japan took silver in 23.06s, while Changhao Wang of China clinched bronze in 23.25s.
Earlier yesterday, Arkhangelskiy set the second-fastest time of the first-round heats, where he competed in the fifth of five races, winning in 23.23s to secure his place in the medal round.
Meanwhile, Bahrain headlined yesterday’s thrilling action on the track.
Yavi put on a brilliant finish to win the women’s 10,000m final, where she was engaged in a heated battle with Japan’s 12-time national champion Nozomi Tanaka, who was in the lead at the bell. They ran shoulder-to-shoulder until Yavi proved her class over the concluding half-lap, winning in 32 minutes 39.18 seconds.
Yavi secured the fourth Asiad title of her career and her maiden crown in the distance. It was also the first of her three scheduled participations in this year’s Asian Games.
Tanaka was the silver-medallist in 32:41.54 and Seema from India clinched bronze in 32:50.05. Yavi’s compatriot Ruth Jebet, also a former Olympic champion, came fifth in 33:22.21 after leading briefly early on.
In the very next race yesterday, Naser anchored the Bahrainis in their win with a fantastic closing run where she battled back brilliantly from fifth place. Isah kicked their bid off before passing the baton to Abdullah. Sami then took over and then Naser was in charge in the final leg, crossing the line with a comfortable gap in 3:12.87.
India won silver in 3:14.46, while Vietnam captured bronze in 3:14.54.
Earlier yesterday, the Bahrainis booked their place in the mixed 4x400m final after taking the first of two preliminary heats in 3:15.73.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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