Ahmed Mubarak wins 400m bronze at Asian meet

MUSCAT: Young sprinter Ahmed Mubarak won the 400m bronze medal in the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar on Friday night.

According to information received here, Ahmed Mubarak clocked 46.39 seconds in the final to deny hosts India a clean sweep of the medals.

Local stars Muhammed Anyas (45.77) and Arokia Rajiv (46.14) won the gold and silver respectively while their compatriot Amoj Jacob (46.49) finished fourth.

Othman Ali was another Omani sprinter to take part in the 400m competition but he failed to make it to the final.

Earlier, Othman timed 47.36 to finish third in Heat 3 which was won by Amoj Jacob (47.09). However, in the semifinal Heat 1 he fin-

Ahmed Mubarak won Oman’s first medal of the 22nd Asian championships, being organised in the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar, when he finished third in the 400m final

ished in seventh place while Ahmed Mubarak advanced from the same heat with his fourth place finish.

Obaid advances

In Saturday’s action too, Oman had a mixed day when Mohammed Obaid advanced to the semifinals of the 200m while Rashid Al Hashmi failed to move up in the same competition.

In preliminary round Heat 1, Mohammed Obaid clocked 21.66 seconds to book his place in the next round despite finishing the fourth in the heat. Rashid on the other hand finished fifth in Heat 4 in a time of 22.13 seconds.

The championships will conclude on Sunday when Mohammed Obaid as well as Oman’s 4x400m relay squad will be in action.

– PTI FIRST MEDAL: India’s gold medalist Mohamed Anas Y, cetnre, silver medalist Arokia Rajiv and Oman’s bronze winner Ahmed Mubarak pictured during the 400m medal ceremony at the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, India on Friday.