Iran top medal tally at Asia-Oceania

Dubai - Hosts UAE put on impressive show winning 20 medals

Iran took home a rich haul of 40 medals in the IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships which concluded on Saturday night at the Dubai Police Officers' Club in Jadaf.
Iran topped the final medals table with a total of 23 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze. China finished second with 16 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze. India (12-10-9) were third and Japan (8-6-11) finished in fourth place.
Hosts UAE took the fifth spot with 20 medals including six gold, nine silver and five bronze medals in the inaugural meet held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC).
Sri Lanka's golden girl Amara Indumathi Lallwala Palliyagurunnanselage clinched a double with an impressive victory in the women's 200m T44/47 in 27.89, while India's Anvil Kumar struck gold in the men's 400m T13 clocking 53.98.
An industrial engineer by profession, Amara, told Khaleej Times: "I'm happy to come to Dubai and win two gold medals in the first Asia-Oceania Championship. It is a big achievement in my life."
"I was confident of winning after the training and guidance I received from my coach," said the 30-year old who qualified for the Rio Paralympics after winning the 400m T47 in Dubai earlier during the week.
Dubai Sports Council secretary general Saeed Hareb, said: "I'm proud about what I saw today (Saturday night). Everything was perfect from the organisational side which was carried out in a professional manner. The number of medals won by UAE showed these athletes have lot of will power to face any challenge.  They have proved that they are producing more results than what normal athletes get in the international arena."
The thrilling men's 400m T54 final featuring the youngest competitor in the Championship 17-year-old Salem Al Shehhi of the UAE saw the plucky Sharjah ace lose narrowly to 22-year old Yuki Nishi of Japan. Al Shehhi bagged gold in the 100m and 200m earlier this week. The UAE produced the individual star of the Championships as world silver medallist Mohamed Hammadi was the only athlete to bag four gold medals in the Championships in men's 100m, 200m, ,400m and 800m T34 categories to boost his preparations for the Rio Games.
Iran's Ahmad Ojaghlou stole the limelight on the sixth and final day of the competition in Dubai by completing a treble with victory in the 400m T47.
The 28-year-old (50.09) held off a strong challenge from India's Sandeep Singh (50.67) to add another gold to his 100m and 200m T47 wins. "I am so happy I won three gold medals, I have the best times ever," said Ojaghlou.
India's Varun Singh Bhati (T42) set a new Asian record in the high jump T42-47, clearing 1.82m (996 points), bringing the grand total of new marks to 16 in the Championship. His compatriot Arvind (F37) clinched gold in the men's discus F37/38, with a final throw of 45.34m (840 points).
Ojaghlou' teammate Arash Khosravi notched up his second gold in Dubai with a spectacular finish in the men's 200m T11. Iran clinched the final event on the concluding night when Ali Elahi won the men's 1,500m after his Indian rival Ramkaran Singh was disqualified.
Singh had won the 5,000m title earlier by setting an Asian record but his joy of a golden double was shortlived after Elahi howled in protest that he was impeded by the Indian. Elahi was subsequently adjudged the winner in a time of 4:20.36.
moni@khaleejtimes.com