 |
China Confirms Its Bit Status as Asian Athletics Open
China quickly confirmed its status as one of the favorites at the 13th Asian Athletics Championships on Monday when Li Xiaoxue won gold in the women's hammer throw.
Li tossed a distance of 59.02 meters, followed by Japan's Yuka Murofushi(58.64) and Masumi Aya (55.97).
The Chinese also won two silvers and three bronzes to take the early lead in the medals race with a total of six from six events. India was second with four medals, ahead of Japan, which had a silver and two bronzes. Qatar won a gold and a silver.
India's Shakti Singh won the men's shot put with an effort of 19.77 meters, while compatriot Neelam Singh took the women's discus at 60.75 meters. Yelena Parfyonova of Kazakhstan won the women's triple jump in 14.08 meters, just off the meet record of 14.11.
Sutono Supriati won Indonesia's first-ever Asian championships gold. But the army sergeant was disappointed that no one pushed her in the women's 10,000 meters _her time of 33 minutes, 47.24 seconds was below the Olympic minimum standard.
Qatar's Ahmed Ibrahim took gold in the men's 10,000 meters. Makhlid Al Otaibi of Saudi Arabia collapsed 22 minutes into the race on a humid night and was given oxygen on the track before being carried off. He was treated at the stadium and released.
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid earlier opened the competition. He expressed hopes that the event will show the world there is unity in the region despite its wide political and cultural differences.
Organizers said nearly 500 athletes were on hand from 36 countries and regionals.
Among the countries with athletes still hoping to qualify for the Sydney Games next month were Japan, Sri Lanka, India, Kuwait and Uzbekistan.
The competition, which runs through Thursday, is being held in two daily sessions _ one in early morning, the other in late afternoon-evening _ to avoid the worst of the tropical heat.
In This Section
|