ATHLETICS – Bahrain’s reigning Olympic champion and former world champion Winfred Yavi bagged her second gold medal of the 20th Asian Games yesterday after winning the women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase final while setting a new Asiad record.
Yavi put in a sensational finishing kick to triumph comfortably in a new all-time Asian Games best of nine minutes 04.36 seconds – shattering the old fastest mark of 9:18.28, which she herself posted in the previous edition of the quadrennial Olympic Council of Asia spectacle.
Yavi’s victory was her third straight women’s 3,000m steeplechase gold in the Asian Games as well as the fifth Asiad title of her career.
It was also the eighth gold medal for the kingdom’s delegation in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan as they brought their tally to 13 medals overall, including two silver and three bronze medals.
The medals have been clinched in athletics, swimming, mixed martial arts, and weightlifting.
Bahrain climbed to seventh while remaining as the top-ranked Arab nation on the medal table.
Yavi is now scheduled to go for a golden hat-trick today when she competes in the women’s 5,000m final at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, scheduled for a 2.43pm start, Bahrain time.
In yesterday’s run, the 26-year-old paced herself for much of the race with the lead group of Norah Jeruto from Kazakhstan, who is also an ex-world champion, and former continental champion Parul Chaudhary from India.
The trio battled shoulder-to-shoulder until Yavi shifted to another gear heading into the last lap.
Yavi then powered ahead at the bell and never looked back, building a comfortable lead as she cleared the concluding hurdle and headed down the home straight to win in her new Asiad record time.
Jeruto followed as the silver-medallist in 9:06.82 while Chaudhary took bronze in 9:08.67.
Also as part of the eight-runner field in yesterday’s event was Bahrain’s Tigest Mekonen, who finished sixth in 9:51.94.
Yavi’s women’s 3,000m steeplechase crown in Aichi-Nagoya added to her gold medal in the women’s 10,000m, which she captured on Thursday last week.
Her 5,000m final today will wrap up her participation.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s quartet of Layla Kamal, Edidiong Odiong, Hajar Alkhaldi, and Raihanah Garoubah squeezed into the medal race of the women’s 4x100m relay yesterday.
Competing in the second of two preliminary round heats, the Bahrainis finished fourth to just miss out on an automatic berth, reserved for the top three.
But they made it through as one of two ‘lucky losers’ with their finishing time of 44.42s. South Korea were the others.
Securing the direct berths from heat one were China, Thailand, and Vietnam, while India, Japan, and the Philippines qualified ahead of Bahrain from heat two.
The final is slated for today at 4.04pm, Bahrain time.
Elsewhere yesterday in the track and field competition, Odiong finished fifth in the women’s 200m final in 23.41s; Ahmed Sabri ranked 12th in the men’s high jump final with a best of 2.05m; and the foursome of Ali Haji, Abbas Ali, Ebrahim Omar, and Abdulraof Rashed came up short in their bid to qualify for the men’s 4x100m final after placing sixth in the first of two heats in the opening round.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
Team Bahrain Roundup
SHOOTING: SAEED Hasan placed 20th yesterday at the end of the first day of the trap men’s individual competition at Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery. He hit 46 of the 50 targets for the day. Meanwhile, fellow-Bahrainis Marwa Buarki and Maryam Fadhel Sulaiti were 17th and 20th, respectively, on day one of the trap women’s individual event at the same venue. Both Buraiki and Sulaiti connected on 42 of their targets. Both competitions continue today.
KURASH: RASUL Magomedov bowed out of the men’s over-90kg competition in kurash yesterday at Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall. Magomedov lost to his opponent Duurenbayar Ulzibayar from Mongolia 0-10 in the round of 16. He was the lone participant on the kingdom’s delegation in the combat sport.
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