The final day of the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi unfolded in spectacular fashion, with South Korea delivering a thrilling performance in the men’s 4x100m relay, seizing gold in front of an exuberant home crowd. Meanwhile, Pakistan, Kuwait, and the Philippines made their mark too, with each securing their first gold medals in the competition.
Relay Gold For South Korea
The Korean quartet - Minjun Seo, Joeljin Nwamadi, Jaeseong Lee and Junhyuk Lee - executed a seamless baton exchange to clinch victory in 38.49 seconds, igniting jubilant celebrations at Gumi Stadium. Thailand’s team, composed of Natawat Iamudom, Thawatchai Himaiad, Chayut Khongprasit and Puripol Boonson ran valiantly to claim silver in 38.78 seconds while Hong Kong’s Yat Lok Chan, Hong Kit Lee, Chun Ting Kwok and Magnus Prostur Johannsson secured bronze with a commendable time of 39.10 seconds.
Wins For Kuwait, Pakistan & Philippines
Beyond the electrifying sprinting action, three nations celebrated their golden breakthroughs. Kuwait’s Ebrahim Alzofairi triumphed in the men’s 800m, clocking 1:44.59 to outpace Iran’s Ali Amirian (1:44.97) and Qatar’s Abubaker Haydar Abdalla ((1:45.20).
In the field events, Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan showcased his class in the men’s javelin, launching an impressive throw of 86.40m to take gold, ahead of India’s Sachin Yadav (85.16m) and Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama (83.75m).
The men’s pole vault witnessed a gripping duel between the Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena and China’s Huang Bokai -both clearing 5.77m, with Obiena ultimately prevailing based on a jump-off. Thailand’s Patsapong Amsamarng claimed bronze with a 5.67m clearance.
Fruitful Day For China
China’s women continued their dominant streak, amassing four gold medals on the final day. Mo Jiadie narrowly triumphed in 55.31 seconds, edging Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Mujidat Adekoya (55.32) by a whisker in the 400m hurdles. India’s Vithya Ramraj (56.46) clinched the bronze.
The 200m saw Chen Yujie securing gold in a tight contest against Singapore’s Shanti Pereira, crossing the line in 22.97 seconds, just a hundredth of a second ahead. Chen’s team mate Li Yuting (23.23) won bronze.
Wu Hongjiao emerged victorious in the women’s 800m, clocking 2:00.08 to fend off Japan’s rising star Rin Kubo (2:00.42). India’s Pooja Pooja (2:01.89) was placed third.
In the 4x100m relay, China’s sprinters - Chen Yujie, Li Yuting, Zhu Junying and Liang Xiaojing - delivered a flawless performance, clinching gold in 43.28 seconds, comfortably ahead of India (43.86)) and Thailand (44.26). India’s team was made up of Srabani Nanda, Sneha Sathyanarayana Shanuvalli, Abinaya Rajarajan and Nithya Gandhe while the Thai team comprises Jirapat Khanonta, Supanich Poolkerd, Sukanda Petraksa and Athicha Phetkun.
Other Results
Elsewhere, Japan’s Towa Uzawa blazed to victory in the men’s 200m, stopping the clock at 20.12 seconds, ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Abdu I Atafi (20.31) and India’s Animesh Kujur (20.32).
Qatar’s Abderrahman Almoubarrake S Al Saleck stormed to gold in the men’s 400m hurdles with a time of 48 seconds. Teammate Bassem Mohamed A A Hemeida (49.44) clinched the silver while the bronze went to Taipeh’s Chung Wei Lin (49.73).
Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto Tanui produced a masterclass in distance running, dominating the women’s 5000m in a stellar time of 14:58.71. India’s Parul Chaudhary (15:15.33) and Japan’s Yuma Yamamoto (15:16.86) did well to win the other medals but found Norah’s pace way too hot.
From Gumi To Xiamen
The championships concluded with a dignified closing ceremony, marking the end of Gumi’s tenure as host. In a heartfelt speech, Mayor Kim Jang-Ho reflected on the city’s days of “passion and joy,” underscoring the unifying power of sport. As the curtains fell, all eyes turned to Xiamen, China - the next host of Asia’s premier athletics meet.
Comments are closed.