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By Elshadai Negash
Doha, QATAR -- China’s Xue Fei and Bahrain’s Yusuf Saad Kamel timed their race tactics perfectly to steal victory in the women’s 5000m and men’s 800m respectively on the fifth day of action at the 15th Asian Games in Doha on Monday.
Fei, the world junior 5000m champion, took her time tucking in behind Bahrain’s race pacesetter Nadia Al Jaffini for much of the proceedings and with only 50m left to take victory in 15:40.12. Japan’s Kayo Sugihara and India’s Jaisha Orchatteri followed the 17-year-old Chinese home to win silver and bronze respectively.
“I have been training long and hard for this,” Fei said after her impressive victory. “I knew I would win with 50m to go. That is why I waited to kick at that moment.”
Earlier in the evening, Bahrain’s Yusuf Saad Kamel, IAAF World Cup winner and ranked third in the world in the 800, also judged his race tactics to perfection when winning the men’s two-lap contest.
The Kenyan-born runner did not panic when Qatar’s Abdulrahman Ahmed Suleman took the field through the first 400m in a slow 50.91. Instead, he gently moved behind Mohammed Al Azemi, who had kicked at the bell, and overtook the Kuwaiti in the final 100m to win gold in 1:45.74, with Iran’s Ehsan Mohajershojaei following Azemi to win bronze.
The victory ceremony for the event was delayed for nearly an hour after Kuwaiti officials launched an appeal against the result citing an obstruction by the race winner on Azemi, but the appeal was rejected, leaving the 24-year old with silver.
"I came here to win and am very, very happy,” Kamel said. “I thought for sure I had a chance to win the race, but I was surprised.”
However, Kamel did not appear at the official post-race press conference with no reason for his absence given by Bahraini officials.
Bahrain’s Maryam Yusuf Jamal hopes to complete an 800/1500m double when she lines up in the long event in the highlight of the action of Tuesday, the last day of competition in the athletics.
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