BUSAN, South Korea, 14 October — Saudi Arabia won their seventh gold medal at the Asian Games track and field competition here yesterday, winning the men’s 4x400m relay in 3 minutes 02.47 seconds.
India came in second in 3:04.22, holding off a fast finishing Sri Lanka who took the bronze in 3:04.37sec.
Japan, the defending champions, were fourth.
US coaching guru John Smith warned yesterday that Saudi Arabia’s seven gold medals in their most successful Asian Games track and field campaign will lead to even greater things in future.
The Saudis wrapped up their Asiad challenge with a new Saudi national record of 3 minutes 02.47 seconds to sideline Japan and China from the top of the men’s medal table.
And with the Kingdom already tasting the ultimate glory in Hadi Soua’an Al-Somaily’s Olympic silver medal, Smith said the will and ability was there to compete with the world’s best and challenge for more Olympic success.
“We have a program,” said Smith, who also coaches former 100m world record holder Maurice Greene and fellow sprint stars Ato Boldon and Jon Drummond.
“The 4x400 exemplifies the fitness levels our guys are subjected to and when you have a group of athletes who are fit and you have a program that shows that you have 400 runners who at the end of the season can run like that then you are on the right road,” he said.
“They broke their national record, that is just a mark of some of the stuff that we’re doing in the Kingdom.
“All the coaches, all of us are on the same page.” The Asian Games glory is being treated as just the first chapter of a masterplan which takes in next year’s World Championships in Paris and the Athens Olympics in 2004. While the likes of Jamal Al-Saffar, who took the glamour 100m title, and Al-Somaily, who was peerless in the hurdles, have taken center stage in Busan, Smith says there is an exciting crop of new faces knocking on the door.
He pointed to the previously unheralded Makhld Al-Otaibi who won the 10,000m and 5,000m double, and Salem Mouled Al-Mowallad who won the triple jump.
“There are a lot more youngsters coming through,” he said.
“When you go to the kingdom now you see a lot of kids who want to run. They used to only want to play football but now they want to run.
“When they see this success in Busan, Al-Somaily’s Olympic medal, a world class athlete in Hamdan Al-Bishi, they have some heroes to look at. “From my perspective there is absolutely plenty to look forward to. With my influence and some of the other coaches, there is lots of potential.
“I tell them you have to first figure out what it takes mentally to start running fast. I put that out there and instill that in everybody, from the administration top to the bottom.” Smith was also glowing in praise for the standard of athlete emerging in the Asian region generally.
“There’s a lot of young people out here and a lot of programs that are improving immensely,” he said.
“That’s why you come to these events, to see what you can do and I’m just pleased to see the Asian area of the world constantly improving.”
With “Victory” etched in blood on her wrist and the words of her country’s leader Kim Jong Il in her head, North Korea’s Ham Pong Sil won the women’s marathon for her country’s first athletics medal.
On the penultimate day of the Asian Games, China added four golds to lift their athletics tally to 15, Iran defended their football title with a 2-1 defeat of Japan and hosts South Korean dominated badminton and beat Iran to take men’s volleyball gold. The Iranians, winners of the football gold in 1974, 1990 and 1998, added a fourth games men’s title with second-half goals from Javad Kazemeyan and Mohsen Bayatiniya. South Korea beat Thailand 3-0 to clinch third place earlier in the day.
In diving, “Prince of the Platform” Tian Liang clinched the men’s 10-meter platform to complete a Chinese clean sweep of all eight golds in diving at Busan, the seventh Asian Games in a row in which China has taken every diving title.
With a handful of events remaining before today’s finale, China head the medals table with 149 golds, South Korea lie second on 92 and Japan are third on 44. Rounding out the top five are Central Asian states Kazakhstan, with 18 golds, and Uzbekistan, on 15.
Ham entered the stadium to a rousing reception from North Korea’s official cheerleaders and brass band, raising both arms as she crossed the line in two hours 33 minutes and 35 seconds.
“Before I came here I met great leader Kim Jong Il and he told me to bring home the gold medal,” she said. “When it started getting tough at 35 kilometers, I remembered what he said and it gave me extra strength to finish strong.
“My teammates wrote a message in blood on my wrist, which said ‘Victory’. During the race that gave me a lift too.”
India regained the 4x400 women’s title they last won in 1986. KM Beenamol, who had won gold in the 800, joined Geetha Satti, Jayalakshmi Vadivel and Jincy Philpes to secure India’s seventh athletics gold in Pusan.
India were told at an Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) hearing on Saturday, however, that 1,500 meters gold medalist Sunita Rani had tested positive for a banned drug. She denied taking any prohibited substance and faces a further test in two weeks.
Uzbekistan dominated the top four weight divisions in boxing as they won five of the 12 gold medals up for grabs, including the middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight and superheavyweight crowns.
The superheavyweight gold was won by Rustam Saidov who edged out Kazakh Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov on points, while the heavyweight title went to Sergey Mihayilov, who stopped Pakistan’s Ali Shoukat after one minute 35 seconds of the third round.
Ikrom Berediev outpointed South Korea’s Choi Ki-soo to clinch the light heavyweight gold and Utkirbek Haydarov stopped Pakistan’s Ahmed Ali Khan after 16 seconds of round three to win the middleweight title.
Uzbekistan also took gold in the lightweight division, Dilshod Mahmudov winning on points over South Korea’s Baik Jong-sub.
Hosts South Korea won three golds — all on points — as Kim Ki-suk beat Harry Tanamor of the Philippines in the light flyweight final, bantamweight Kim Won-Il overcame Uzbek Bekzod Khidirov and Kim Jung-joo won the welterweight crown against Kazakh Sergey Rychko.
Kazakhstan picked up two golds thanks to light welterweight Nurzhan Karimzhanov, who beat Pakistan’s Asghar Ali Shah on points, and light middleweight Gennadiy Golovkin, who stopped Thailand’s Suriya Prasathinphimai. But Thailand did win gold in the flyweight division as Somjit Jongjohor won on points over Pakistan’s Karim Nouman. Pakistan lost four finals but also managed to secure a title through featherweight Mehrullah, who prevailed on points over Galib Jafarov of Kazakhstan.
