Today's Edition
Hangzhou (Aletihad)
Cyclist Ahmed Al Mansoori grabbed a historic bronze, the UAE’s first track medal in the sport, at the Asian Games in China. His podium finish is also the first for an Arab cyclist in the region, according to a congratulatory press note from the National Olympic Committee.
The men’s Omnium event – the cycling equivalent of a decathlon in athletics – saw Al Mansoori progress valiantly across four stages to get the UAE’s fourth bronze medal in the overall tally with the judokas getting five - one gold, a silver and three bronze.
Japan’s Kabuki Kazushige won the gold medal with 178 points in the overall tally followed Leung Ka Yu of Hong Kong.
Al Mansoori, who set up his compatriot Yousif Mirza’s bronze six years ago at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, finished the first stage in a dismal eighth position after the first leg, the Scratch race, among 13 riders. But he came back in style to finish the following Tempo race at the top. Incidentally, Mirza is the technical director of the cycling squad at the Games.
A second place in the third leg, Elimination Race had him even leading the overall tally and set him up for a scintillating result. However, Kazushige sizzled past everyone while Al Mansoori could only managed to come in sixth and had to settle for the third place on the podium.
Meanwhile UAE boxer Sultan Al Nuaimi bowed out of the boxing pre-quarter-finals. His pursuit after becoming the only boxer for the UAE to win a match earlier ended against Pakistan’s Zohaib Rasheed.
The latter won on points from the blue corner by a unanimous decision in the men’s 51-kilogram category at the Hangzhou Gymnasium.
The basketball team also had a disappointing result, losing to Kazakhstan 49-59 at the Zijingang Gymnasium.
Meanwhile, five-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah did not train for the Asian Games – and still came away with two medals in shooting.
The 52-year-old all-rounder, already an Asian Games gold medallist in shooting in 2002 and 2010, returned to the podium with a men’s skeet team silver and skeet individual bronze in Hangzhou. The busy rally driver from Qatar had no time to pull the trigger before arriving in the country.
“When I am competing in rally driving, no skeet training. Nothing, zero training,” said Al-Attiyah, who won an Olympic skeet bronze at London in 2012. “I used my experience.”
