9.92s: Su becomes Asia’s fastest man in Games record time
JAKARTA, August 26
China’s Su Bingtian was crowned Asia’s fastest man on Sunday, justifying the hype surrounding him by winning the blue riband 100m sprint gold in an Asian Games record time.
Su became the first Asian-born sprinter to run the distance in under 10 seconds in June when he clocked 9.91s twice in the space of eight days, matching the Asian record held by Qatar’s Nigerian-born Femi Ogunode.
On Sunday, he held off his opponents with a late burst of speed to win the event in 9.92s, ahead of Nigerian-born Qatari Tosin Ogunode, who clocked 10.00s. Japan’s Ryota Yamagata was credited with the same time as Ogunode and won the bronze.
Women’s shot put world champion Gong Lijiao and Gao Yang made it a one-two for China although Gong’s distance of 19.66m was over two metres more than her compatriot. China took the top-two positions in the men’s long jump when Wang Jianan and Zhang Yaoguang won the gold and silver medals, respectively.
Bahrain also had their one-two moment on the night when Moroccan-born Hassan Chani and Kenyan-born Abraham Cheroben won the gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s 10,000m.
Palestinian lifter heartbroken over sister’s death
A Palestinian weightlifter wept as he belatedly learned of his young sister’s tragic death from illness — a day after he competed in the Asian Games. Hani al-Qassas’s family and team kept the news from him until after his appearance at the Games, the first international competition he had permission to attend.
His five-year-old sister, who had fallen into a coma, died in Gaza three days before he was due to take his turn in the 77kg class.
“They did not tell me until a day after my participation,” a tearful Qassas said.
His coach Hossam Hamada, crying too, said he was the first to find out. “The news had a big impact on me because I had a similar situation with my sister,” said Hamada, who also comes from Gaza, where medical facilities are generally poor. “I tried to hide the news from Hani, as far as I could.” But Qassas, 23, realised something was going on. — Agencies
