(MENAFN- The Peninsula) When Mohamed Al Garni said two days ago that he would also win the 1,500m gold to go with his 5,000m title in Incheon, you could have dismissed it as a boast some sportsmen are typically prone to making in the wake of an unexpected success.
But Al Garni proved yesterday he was not talking through his hat by delivering exactly on that promise to help Qatar jump to seventh position on the medal tally on what was their most fruitful day ever in the history of the Asian Games since they made their debut in New Delhi in 1982.
The 22-year-old didn't set any record like he did on Saturday when he sensationally clocked 13 minutes and 26.13 seconds to shave more than 12 seconds off the previous 5,000m Asian Games mark of 13:28.37 held by Japan's Toshinari Takaoka since 1994, but still produced a tremendous effort to leave the favourites trailing in his wake.
"I made a promise after my victory in the 5,000m that I would win the 1,500m too. It was not an empty promise, I had a plan and I knew I had the ability to deliver on that," the 5'3" star told journalists after clocking 3 minutes and 40.23 seconds to win ahead of Bahrain's Rasheed Ramzi (3:40.95) and Iraq's Adnan Taes Al Mntfage (3:42.50).
Al Garni also wanted to prove a point after he spent considerable time going through dope testing procedures after his win on Saturday night that left him without official transportation at the stadium.
When he finally got to the Athletes Village after authorities scrambled a vehicle for him, it was well past 3am, something that left him a bit disconcerted, but even more motivated.
"As if my 5,000 race was not tiring enough, I had to run the 1,500 qualifiers the next day. But I kept my focus and delivered when it mattered in the final," he said.
Later Abubaker Ali Kamal Ali took Qatar's gold tally to eight by winning the 3,000m steeplechase with a timings of 8:28.72.
Bahrain's Tareq Mubarak Taher clocked 8:39.62 to claim the silver while India's Naveen Kumar took bronze in a time of 8:40.39.
Kamal, who won the steeplechase gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Kobe four years ago, said he was happy to have once again helped his country achieve success at a big stage.
"I couldn't be happier," said the 31-year-old, a veteran of many a battle. "An athlete's life as a professional is limited. You have to make the most of the chances you get."
Meanwhile, Qatar and Asian athletics chief Dahlan Al Hamad was beaming after the country's unprecedented success at the Games.
"Three gold medals in a day. I am thrilled. Like I have always said Qatar's infrastructure is among the best a country can have. Our performance at the Asian Games this time will certainly prove a boon for athletics," said Al Hamad.
"However, we have to keep working hard to keep the good work going. We can't afford to sit on our achievements. We have to keep looking at the future."
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.