Tokyo, September 28 (QNA) - Qatari hurdler Bassem Hameida won the gold medal in the men's 400-meter hurdles on Monday at the 20th Asian Games, "Aichi-Nagoya 2026", currently underway in Japan, giving Qatar its third gold medal of the Games.
The 26-year-old Hameida overcame a late deficit behind Japan's Taigo Goto to finish in first place in 47.82 seconds, edging Goto, who finished runner-up in 47.93 seconds. The bronze medal went to Chinese Taipei's Chung Wei-lin, who clocked 48.74 seconds.
Hameida's gold came after he advanced to the final and topped his heat in the semifinals, clocking 49.55 seconds, as he continued his outstanding run in Asian competition and added gold to the silver medal he won at the previous edition in Hangzhou, China, in 2023.
Hameida finished runner-up in Hangzhou behind fellow Qatari Abderrahman Samba, who missed the current edition because of an injury he suffered during the qualifying rounds that kept him out of the competition, despite being among the leading contenders for the title.
The final featured hurdlers from Japan, Chinese Taipei, India, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan, with Hameida owning the fastest personal best among the finalists, a time of 47.56 seconds that he recorded last August.
With Bassem Hameida's gold, Qatar's medal haul rose to three golds at the Games, following Rashid Al Athba's victory in the skeet competition and the men's skeet team's gold medal. (QNA)