Bahrain make impressive charge at Asian Games, KSA secure third medal

JAKARTA: Saudi Arabia secured a third medal at the Asian Games on Monday, but it was Bahrain once more who made the most impressive charge up the table, adding two golds and a silver to their already impressive haul.
Saudi karateka Raef Al-Turkistani had to settle for silver after being defeated 5-0 in the final of the Men’s Under-75kg final by Iran’s Bahman Asgari Ghoncheh. According to the official Twitter feed of the Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority, Al-Turkistani will be rewarded 300,000 riyals on arrival back home for his exploits at the JCC Plenary Hall.
Inside the nearby Gelora Bung Karno stadium, Bahraini runner Oluwakemi Adekoya secured gold in the Women’s 400-meter Hurdles with a time of 54.48 seconds. The time broke the Asian Games record of 54.87 seconds, which itself had only been achieved the previous evening. Adeyoka’s compatriot, Aminat Jamal, clocked 55.65s to finish narrowly behind Thi Lan Quach of Vietnam and claim bronze. Shortly after, Yavi Winfred won Bahrain its second gold of the day when she completed the Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase in nine minutes 36 seconds.
Around 60km south of Jakarta, at the Pakansari Stadium, the UAE football team qualified for the semifinals of the Men’s Football after overcoming North Korea 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regular time. Syria, however, also pushed to extra time in their quarter-final with Vietnam, eventually conceded and were eliminated to miss out on a place in the last four. The war-torn nation did though finish the day with their first medal, courtesy of Majd Eddin Ghzal, who took bronze in the Men’s High Jump.
Jordan also secured a bronze — their eighth of the Games — when Bashar Al-Najjar won his medal match against Saadi Ghulam Abbas of Pakistan in the Men’s Karate Under-75kg. Al-Najjar had lost to Saudi’s Al-Turkistani earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, the Kuwait National Olympic Committee, who had taken its first two medals — both gold — since having its ban overturned on Sunday, continued to enjoy success, adding a further silver on Monday. Ahmad Al-Mesfer lost to Japan’s Ryutaro Araga in the final of the Men’s Under-84kg category. And Qatar’s Ashraf Elseify bagged gold in the Men’s Hammer Throw competition before Yasser Bagharab added a silver in the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase.