Bahrain runner stripped of athletics gold

INCHEON: Teenaged Bahrain steeplechaser Ruth Jebet was dramatically stripped of gold just before she mounted the podium on Saturday as the Asian Games athletics started in a storm of controversy.
The Kenya-born runner comfortably won but as she stood behind the podium, with China’s Li Zhenzhu and India’s Lalita Babar already wearing their medals, her disqualification was announced to the stunned stadium.
The 17-year-old was led away in tears and China’s Li celebrated her sudden promotion to gold, giving the double thumbs-up and posing with her national flag.
Jebet had annihilated the Games record by more than 24 seconds but officials saw that on her last lap, with nobody nearby, she stumbled and stepped inside the track.
Bahraini officials fumed over the decision, with one calling it a “disgrace.” They descended en masse on the referees’ office, before later conceding Jebet’s error.
It made for a stormy end to a first night of athletics when Africa-born athletes dominated the opening track events.
Along with Jebet, who switched nationality last year, United Arab Emirates’ Ethiopian-origin Alia Saeed Mohammed crossed first in the women’s 10,000m.
“This is the most awesome day of my life,” she said.
Qatar’s Mohamad Al-Garni, originally from Morocco, smashed a 20-year-old Games record as he won the men’s 5,000m ahead of Bahrain’s Alemu Bekele Gebre and Albert Kibichii Rop.
Li’s officially confirmed elevation to steeplechase gold would make her the second Chinese winner of the night after Gong Lijiao triumphed in the women’s shot-put.
And it was a momentous night for Iran when Leyla Rajabi took silver behind Li to become the Islamic republic’s first Asian Games athletics medal-winner.
Japan loosened China’s hold on the men’s basketball, an event it has ruled with the likes of Yao Ming, with a 79-72 upset which left the champions on the verge of elimination.
Veteran badminton stars Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan set up a crunch semifinal clash in what looks likely to be one of their last encounters on the big stage.
“I don’t know when I or Lee Chong Wei will retire, so I cherish every opportunity to play against him,” said China’s Olympic champion Lin, 30.
Among Sunday’s highlights, South Korea and Japan meet in the men’s football quarterfinals in a repeat of their explosive London Olympics medal-decider, which ended in a political row.

Swimmer shames Japan

Swimmer Naoya Tomita brought shame to Japan’s Asian Games delegation after he was caught stealing a camera from a local photojournalist, while football authorities said on Saturday they were looking into reports of match-fixing at the Asiad.
The Asian Football Confederation said in a statement it was working closely with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Sportradar, which monitors the world’s betting industry, identifying fraud and unusual patterns of behavior.
“The AFC is determined to eradicate match-fixing in Asia and we will ensure no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of our goal,” said soccer’s governing body in the region.
The men’s football tournament continues on Sunday with the quarterfinals, while the women will play in the semis the following day.
There would be no more popular gold medal for the host country than baseball, and South Korea set up a mouthwatering final against Taiwan after beating China 7-2 at Munhak Baseball Stadium on Saturday.
In the earlier semifinal, Taiwan, referred to as ‘Chinese Taipei’ at the Games, exploded for seven runs in the second inning on the way to a 10-4 rout of Japan.
“We managed to do well in the first inning, but gave Chinese Taipei a large lead in the second inning,” said Japanese head coach Hirotami Kojima.
“I think that was the main reason for our defeat today.” There was more disappointment for Japan with the news that swimmer Tomita, who won gold in the 200m breaststroke four years ago in Guangzhou but finished out of the medals in Incheon, had admitted stealing an 8 million won ($7,600) camera.
“He has been expelled from the team effective immediately,” said the head of the Japanese delegation, Tsuyoshi Aoki.
“He will have to find his own way back to Japan. Further consequences of the act will be decided upon in Japan.” “He admitted it right away,” South Korean police said. “The case will be dealt with by the prosecutor’s office next week.” The swimming events wrapped up the previous night with Japan’s powerful men’s team winning eight out of a possible 19 events.
Japan are determined to displace South Korea as runners-up to China in the medals table for the first time since 1994, and trail the hosts by three gold medals after eight days of competition.
The title of the fastest man in Asia will be decided on Sunday with the 100 meters final at the Asiad Main Stadium.
That crown once belonged to Mani Jegathesan, who won the 100m and 200m titles at the 1966 Bangkok Games.
Almost 50 years later, Dr. Jegathesan is chairman of the OCA’s medical commission and one of the top anti-doping officials in Asia.
Jegathesan told reporters on Saturday that 1,600 athletes would be tested in Incheon, with more than 1,920 samples collected over the Games period.
The two positive tests of the Games so far — a Cambodian soft tennis player and a Tajiki footballer — had likely come after the athletes unintentionally took banned substances through supplements or medications.
However, anti-doping authorities had to make no distinction between the ill-informed athlete and the hardcore drugs cheat when it came to reporting positive tests, he warned.
“We are not interested in your intention,” he added. “Once this substance is found in your body, you have to pay for it.”