The Hindu : Binu adds 800m silver to family collection

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 10, 2002

Sport

Sport - Asian Games

Binu adds 800m silver to family collection

By K.P. Mohan

BUSAN OCT. 9. K.M. Binu pulled off an impossible-looking silver in the 800 metres, and ended up feeling he could have had the gold had he run the race differently.

This was a bonus on the third day of the athletics competitions in the Asian Games on Wednesday, a lean day otherwise for India. At best, in everyone's calculations, including Binu's, there was the distant possibility of a bronze. "I am happier than for winning my own gold,'' said elder sister K.M. Beenamol moments after an elated and breathless Binu was confronted by a horde of Indian mediamen. A brother-sister combination winning a medal each for the country in the same event is unique. Beenamol had won the 800m gold the previous day and is looking forward to the 400 metres on Thursday. The Kalayathumkuzhiyil Mathews family, back home in Idukki, must be the proudest in Kerala, nay India, right now.

From the overall perspective on a thinly-spread third day, Kuwaiti Fawzi Al-Shammari emphatically underlined his superiority in the men's 400 metres with a last-stride victory over Saudi Arabian Hamdan O. Al-Bishi, Qatari Khamis Abdullah scored an effortless victory in the 3000m steeplechase and Liu Xiang left the field far behind for an easy-looking win in the men's high hurdles. All these men were adding the Asian Games gold to their Asian titles won in Colombo and they did so with new Games records, to boot.

China won both the gold medals that were at stake in the women's section, Gao Shuying claiming the pole vault with a Games record of 4.35 metres and Li Meiju winning the shot put competition.

The other two golds of the day went to Saudi Arabian triple jumper Salem Mouled Al-Ahmadi, who also added to his Asian championship gold, and of course Mohammed Rachid Ramzi, the man who beat Binu for the 800 metres gold. The 22-year-old, the silver winner in the 1500 metres at the Colombo Asian meet, is a Moroccan `import' to Bahrain.

Ramzi was the only one to respond when Binu started pulling away early on the back-straight after the unknown Uzbek, Erkinjon Isakov took the runners through a 56-plus opening lap. From more than 220 metres out, Binu had started to lengthen his strides, so courageously and so effortlessly, that one felt he might have miscalculated.

But he couldn't shake off Ramzi. Onto the home bend, it looked for a moment that Binu had started off too early as the others began bridging the gap. But he had a second `kick' in reserve. Even as the favourites, Qatar's Salem Amer Al Badri, world junior silver medallist and Asian junior champion last year, and Adam Abdu Adam along with the Asian champion, Mikhail Kolaganov of Kazakhstan were trying to figure out what was happening, Ramzi and Binu were well in front and on their way to gold and silver. Chinese Li Huiquan took the bronze.

From the Indian angle, Anand Menezes's elimination in the 200m semifinals, clocking 21.77s and finishing last in his heat, was a big disappointment. He had clocked a 20.79 back home.

On the brighter side, Saraswati Saha won her 200m heat, in 23.51s to make it to the final, along with the other Indian, Vinita Tripathi who squeezed through as one of the best losers after finishing fifth in 23.94.

Anuradha Biswal also qualified for the 100m hurdles final, clocking 13.49 and in the process finishing ahead of Japanese Yvonne Kanazawa but behind Chinese Su Yiping.

The much-awaited clash between Fawzi Al-Shammari and Hamdan Al-Bishi produced the fare that was bound to come when fire meets fire. The two had clashed in Colombo when the Kuwaiti won without trouble. But today, it looked different. Al-Bishi was in front right through and as he came onto the straight and held his poise even as Al-Shammari made a typical charge, it might have looked a reversal of the Asian championship result. But the 23-year-old Kuwaiti never gave up.

Into the `box' Al-Shammari almost caught up with the Saudi and on his last stride he had the gold, at a season-best-equalling 44.93, also equalling the Games record in the name of Qatari Ibrahim Ismail who clocked the time in the heats in 1994.

Khamis Abdullah did not have the injured Asian record holder Saad Shaddad Al-Asmari to contend with in the 3000m steeplechase and won as he willed. He was too good for the rest of the field. But there was a en edge-of-the-seat climax for the fight for the silver in which Qatari Ali Kamal Abubaker was given the silver ahead of Japanese Yoshitaka Iwamizu. Both were timed 8:31.75 while Abdullah's Games record came in 8:30.52.

The results:

Men: 400m: 1. Fawzi Al-Shammari (Kuw) 44.93 (eq. GR), 2. Hamdan O. Al-Bishi (KSA) 44.95, 3. Rohan Pradeep Kumara (Sri) 45.67.

800m: 1. Mohammed Rachid Ramzi (Brn) 1:47.12, 2. K. M. Binu (Ind) 1:47.57, 3. Li Huiquan (Chn) 1:47.77

3,000m steeplechase: 1. Khamis Seif Abdullah (Qat) 8:30.52 (GR, old 8:31.73), 2. Ali Kamal Abubaker (Qat) 8:31.75, 3. Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Jpn) 8:31.75.

110m hurdles: 1. Liu Xiang (Chn) 13.27 (GR, old 13.30), 2. Satoru Tanigawa (Jpn) 13.83, 3. Park Tae-Kyong (Kor) 13.89.

Triple jump: 1. Salem Mouled Al-Ahmadi (KSA) 16.60, 2. Lao Jianfeng (Chn) 16.57, 3. Takashi Komatsu (Jpn) 16.34.

Women: Pole vault: 1. Gao Shuying (Chn) 4.35 (GR, old 4.00), 2. Masumi Ono (Jpn) 4.10, 3. Qin Xia (Chn) 4.00.

Shot put: 1. Li Meiju (Chn) 18.62, 2. Lee Myung Sun (Kor) 18.50, 3. Juthaporn Krasaeyan (Tha) 17.53.

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