Qatari track and field star Abderrahman Samba got little time to recover from a painful injury before last year’s IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
But with Tokyo Olympics delayed by a year due to coronavirus pandemic, the star Qatari hurdler sees the postponement as an ‘excellent’ opportunity for himself to regain full fitness.
At the 2019 World Championships - the first event to be held in the Middle East - Samba was facing a furious competition at Doha’s iconic Khaifa International Stadium, with three sub 47 athletes – including himself, Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin – eyeing top honours in the in the 400m hurdles what was dubbed the toughest battle in the championships.
Samba suffered from an injury few weeks before the home championships while running 400m flat at London Diamond League. Eventually, the Qatari star finished behind Warholm and Benjamin in Doha, but he hailed his bronze as a ‘gold medal’ at that time.
“I competed in pain as I did not recovered from the injury I suffered in London event,” Samba recalled at Live with Al Adaam programme.
The Qatari said with the organisers pushing back the Olympics, he will not have to face the same ordeal in sports’ biggest spectacle. “The Olympics delay is good for me because it will give me ample time to be ready which was not the case before,” he said. “I was racing against time to recover completely from the injury and the postponement is excellent for me,” the 24-year-old said.
While speaking on the prevailing situation worldwide, Samba said athletes suffered a lot because they were confined to home training due to restrictions imposed to contain the spread of virus.
“We are returning to routine training with gradual lifting of restrictions, which is good,” he said. Memorable moment Recalling the highlights of his career during his career so far, Samba said he would not forget the moment when President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani congratulated him for winning a bronze medal at Doha 2019.
“The words cannot be erased from my memory. The appreciation I received from everywhere was huge and I will not forget all the support I received,” he said. “What I am today is because of the QOC and the Qatar Athletics Federation, who give me full support and good atmosphere to train.”
The Qatari star also recalled toughest time of his career when he stumbled in the last hurdles of final race during the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London. “It was a difficult stage of my career but at the same time it also gave me strength to stand up for the challenge again,” he said.
“The year 2018 was a turning point in my career in which my performance was very good. The same year I clocked 46.98 during the Paris Diamond League,” he said.
Samba also heaped praise on his Qatari team-mate Mutaz Barshim, the reigning world high jump champion. “He is a great athlete a pride of our country and the Arab world. Patience and professionalism are his permanent slogans,” said Samba.
