Staff Reporter
Nagoya: Qatar suffered a major blow to its athletics medal hopes at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya yesterday when two of its star athletes, Mutaz Barshim and Abderrahman Samba, were forced out of competition due to injuries.
Three-time Asian Games high jump champion Mutaz Barshim was ruled out of the final after sustaining an injury. The Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) confirmed the withdrawal on its official account, wishing the champion a speedy recovery and a stronger comeback.
Barshim had been aiming for a fourth Asian Games gold medal after victories in Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014 and Hangzhou 2022. He previously missed the 2018 Jakarta Games due to injury, making yesterday’s setback another frustrating chapter in his Asian Games campaign.
Taiwan’s Fu Chao-hsuan claimed the gold medal with a jump of 2.25m. Republic of Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo took silver with 2.22m, while Japan’s Hirokazu Sakai secured bronze with 2.18m.
In the 400m hurdles, Abderrahman Samba was also forced to withdraw after sustaining an injury during the semi-finals. The QAF confirmed the news and wished the athlete a quick recovery.
Samba had been one of Qatar’s leading medal contenders following his memorable one-two finish with teammate Bassem Hemeida at the Hangzhou Games. With Samba out, Hemeida kept Qatar’s hopes alive by winning his semi-final in 49.55 seconds and qualifying for today’s final.
Elsewhere in athletics, Abubaker Abdalla and Hatem Hameed advanced to the 800m final, while Ibrahim Abbas and Mohammed Waheed will compete in today’s 1,500m final. Omar Dawood finished fifth in the 110m hurdles final with a time of 13.67 seconds after placing second in his semi-final in 13.63 seconds.
Away from the track, Qatar’s defending handball champions moved one step closer to another final. The team defeated Iran 31-25 in the quarter-finals and will face the Republic of Korea in today’s semi-final. Japan will meet Bahrain in the other semi-final, with the final scheduled for tomorrow. Qatar is chasing a fourth successive Asian Games gold after titles in Incheon 2014, Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022.
In beach volleyball, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan maintained their gold-medal defence by defeating Oman’s Hood Al Jalaboubi and Mazin Al Hashimi 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) to top Group A. The pair will face Vietnam in the Round of 16 tomorrow. Cherif described the match against Oman as a tough test and emphasised the strong partnership with Tijan as the duo eyes another title.
Qatar’s second beach volleyball pair, Moussa Al-Khayr and Ihab Mohamed, will also compete in the Round of 16 against a Chinese duo.
On the indoor volleyball court, Qatar opened its campaign with a 3-1 victory over Hong Kong China in Group C. Qatar won the first set 25-20, lost the second 24-26, then took the third 25-20 and fourth 25-21. The team faces Vietnam today.
Qatar will also begin its padel campaign today, with Mohammed Saadoun Al-Kuwari and Hassan Wali (Qatar 1) facing Kazakhstan, while Mishari Nawaf and Rashid Nawaf (Qatar 2) take on a Kuwaiti pair.
In weightlifting, Tokyo Olympic champion Fares Ibrahim returns to action today in the men’s 95kg final. The Qatari star won silver in the 94kg category at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games with a total of 381kg and later claimed Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. He will look to deliver another strong performance in Aichi-Nagoya.