Hosts Qatar are confident of a rich medals haul at next week’s 23rd Asian Athletics Championships, Local Organising Committee (LOC) Chairman Dahlan Al Hamad said yesterday.
Reigning world champion in high jump Mutaz Barshim and Abderrahman Samba (pictured), the most successful track and field athlete last year, have been named in a 29-strong Qatar contingent. Al Dahlan, the IAAF Vice President and President of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA), informed media that the home athletes are ready for action in the April 21-24 event to be held at the Khalifa International Stadium.
“Inshallah (God willing) they will have good results,” Al Hamad said during a press conference held at the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) headquarters, yesterday.
“We know this is the Asian Championship and that this is the year of preparation for the IAAF World Championships. Yes, you cannot underestimate any nation in Asia because everybody will be coming here prepared. But there will be good results for Qatar,” Al Hamad said.
Samba, the 2018 Asian Games champion unbeaten in nine major track and field events last year, is expected to dazzle the home crowd as well as the sports enthusiasts at the Khalifa International Stadium next week.
The Qatar contingent also includes top Asian athletes junior world champion in hammer throw Ashraf El Seify, 2015 Asian Championship gold medallist and silver winner two years ago in Bhubaneswar, Femi Ogunode, sprint sensation Tosin Ogunode, and middle distance star Jamal Hairane who won two silver medals during the last edition.Barshim, meanwhile, has completely recovered from an injury which he had suffered in July last year, and is already training with his coach and is mainly focused on defending his world title.
Before his season was cut short, the Rio Olympics silver medallist, Barshim, cleared a world-leading 2.40-metre mark twice, and accounted for four of the five highest jumps recorded in 2018.
“Barshim has recovered. He’s on the track now and we have just included him in the list,” Al Hamad said.
“But we want to see the last OK from his coach because you know most important thing is for him is to be really fit to compete here and continue in the Diamond League and also the World Championship. The goal is the World Championships,” Al Hamad said. Barshim last competed in the Asian championships in Wuhan, China in 2015, where he won a bronze, one of Qatar’s 10 medals.
