“My dream is to win a medal in the 2012 London Olympics. My quest is to win a medal that will bring global fame home by raising the Kingdom’s national flag at the Olympic stadium,” he said.
Shaween, who is a registered athlete with Jeddah’s Al-Ahli Club, is elated at winning the medal that he simply attributes to hard work. “Frankly speaking, I won the medal as a result of firm determination and hard work since my elimination from the preliminary round of the 2009 Athletics World Championships held in Berlin. I was nowhere at the Beijing Olympics also,” he said.
“When I returned home after these games, I encountered some bitter criticism from many corners. Since then, I’ve been keen to remain silent and showed utmost patience without reacting to the criticism. In the meantime, I concentrated on rigorous training with the single aim of winning gold at the Asian Games,” he added.
Of the criticism of him from a section of the media, Shaween said that this is natural when there is failure. “This helps us examine the causes of our defeat and rectify them. The media plays a vital role in assessing a sportsman’s performance. We have to respect and appreciate their role in this regard,” he said.
“They expect maximum performance from athletes. When we win, they give us maximum publicity and other rights that we deserve as a winner,” he said, adding that the media have also played a huge role in his winning gold at the Asiad.
“I started preparations well before the Games. I had spent several months outside the Kingdom. There were training camps in countries from Ethiopia to Morocco. All these had been conducted under the care and sponsorship of the Saudi Arabian Athletics Federation, especially under the personal care of Prince Nawaf bin Muhammad, chairman of the federation,” he said.
“There were several matters that helped and supported me in winning gold. I cannot forget the support that I received from my family. There were two women — not one — who played a great role in enabling me to win. They are my mother and elder sister. They always stand by me with encouragement and support. I always keep in touch with them whenever I take part in any competitions. I listen to their advice and directives every now and then,” he said.
The gold winner also expressed regret over the pathetic condition of sports, especially athletics, in the Kingdom. “Here in the Kingdom, our care and concern is only for football. All other games and sports events are neglected. Even the mentality of members of the public is disappointing. They pay no attention to most sports and game events,” he said.
“If they see you training on the roadside or at grounds, then they glare at you with surprise. Sometimes, they may try hurting you with their vehicles. Similar is the case with some clubs. We need permission from the club managements on a daily basis to plays sports or any games other than football,” he said.
He added that other countries, especially European countries, and even some Arab countries, give great care and attention to most sporting events.
Shaween also noted that not being able to participate in the Continental Championships held in the Croatian city of Split last September was hard for him. “It was held in the fasting month of Ramadan. Every athlete taking part in the event was required to meet some conditions. Even though I was able to fulfill these conditions, I could not take part in it due to injury. I fell down and sustained injuries. There were four stitches. This happened two months before the championship. The injury forced me to stop training for 25 days. But that was lucky for me, because I then got enough time to get into shape for the Asian Games,” he said.
Shedding light on his social and cultural life, Shaween expressed his avid interest in acquiring proficiency in English. “I love the language very much as it is very important as far as my professional life is concerned. As an international language, it helps me to interact with people across the world,” he said, adding that he has also enrolled on an English language course at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.
“The language helps one read reports about sporting events in English newspapers as well as on online dailies and websites,” he said, adding that he spends his time reading books on religion and culture as part of an endeavor to learn more and improve himself.
Like other Saudi youths, Shaween adores playing football. “As a child, I loved the game and started playing in the neighborhood. Later, I joined the school football team. But I turned to athletics after joining Al-Ahli Club in 2004. Soon my name was registered as an athlete with Al-Ahli at the Saudi Youth Welfare Presidency,” he said.
“Then I participated in a number of athletic events and won several medals in the Kingdom’s western region and also on the national level. I was honored by Al-Ahli Club for my excellent performance,” he added.
Shaween was all praise for the outstanding performance of fellow Saudis at the Asian Games. Saudi athletes bagged a total 18 medals, which include five gold medals, three silvers and five bronzes. Other gold medalists were Ramzy Al-Duhami (show jumping) and Sultan Aboulmajeed Al-Habashi (men's shot put). The Saudi equestrian team also won the show jumping gold and the athletics team the men's 4 x 400m relay.
The three silver medalists were Bandar Yahya Sharahili (men's 400 meters hurdles), Yasir Al-Nashri (men's 100 meters race), and Emad Mohammed Al-Malki (karate). Bronze medals went to Fahd Al-Khathami (men’s 67 kg karate), Ali Ahmad Al-Amri (men's 3,000m steeplechase), Hussain Taha Al-Saba (men's long jump), Khaled Abdu Al-Eid (horse jumping), and Yousef Ahmed Masrahi (men's 400 meters).
