Bahraini athletes had a great time on the track on the second day of athletics in the 19th Asian Games as Oluwakemi Adekoya and Birhanu Balew claimed gold medals in the women’s 400m and men’s 10,000m races respectively in Hangzhou, China, yesterday.
And there was further joy for the kingdom as Salwa Eid Naser came in second behind Adekoya to claim silver and make it a one-two delight in the women’s 400m for Bahrain with Abbas Yusuf Ali and Hajar Alkhaldi picking up bronze medals in the men’s 400m and women’s 100m events respectively.
Long-distance runner Violah Jepchumba had earlier picked up Bahrain’s first gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games on Friday when she won the women’s 10,000m meaning that Bahrain’s athletics medal tally already boasts three gold, one silver and two bronze medals after just two days of competition.
Yesterday’s highlight, though, was the battle in the women’s 400m between Adekoya, 30, and Naser, 25, as both Nigerian-born Bahraini sprinters ensured that the much-anticipated duel lived up to its billing.
As they rounded the final turn, Adekoya was in the lead but Naser made a spectacular effort in the home stretch and almost managed to catch up.
However, it was meant to be Adekoya’s night and the athlete crossed the finish line with a time of 50.66sec with her compatriot being clocked at 50.92sec and Malaysia’s Vallabouy Shereen Samson claiming the bronze in 52.58sec.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian-born Bahraini long-distance runner, Balew, 27, staved off a strong challenge by Indians Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh to clinch his gold in the men’s 10,000m by clocking 28m, 13.62sec.
Kumar, who was timed at 28m, 15.38sec claimed the silver while Singh finished with a time of 28m, 17.21sec to pick up the bronze.
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