05 Oct 2023
Aspire Academy graduates, Mutaz Barshim, Bassem Hemeida, Ashraf Elseify and Abdulla Al Tamimi are all bringing home medals for Qatar from the Asian Games in Hangzhou China.
Mutaz Barshim won gold in the high jump, on the final night of athletics in the stadium, with a jump of 2.35m to equal his own Asian Games record, which he set in 2014 when he last won the title.
The three-time world champion had first-time clearances for his first seven heights but was unable to clear 2.37m. He finished ahead of South Korea’s world indoor champion Woo Sang-hyeok
Bassem Hemeida, who is coached by Qatar Athletics Federation’s Massimo Matrone, won silver medals in both the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay.
In the hurdles, Bassem Hemeida finished second behind his Qatari compatriot Abderrahman Alsaleck Samba, who retained the title he won in 2018. As well as claiming the silver Bassem Hemeida also set a new personal best of 48.52s.
Bassem Hemeida has enjoyed an incredible 2023 so far having won three gold medals to go with his latest silver after he won at the Asian Athletics Championships, the Arab Athletics Championships and the Arab Games. His time in winning the Asian title saw him qualify for the recent World Championships, where he reached the semi-finals, as well as next year’s Paris Olympics.
The two hurdles specialists then joined forces to help Qatar clinch the silver in the 4x400m relay with Abderrahman Alsaleck Samba running the first leg and Bassem Hemeida anchoring the team home. India held on to win the gold medal and set a new national record.
Ashraf Elseify narrowly missed out on retaining his Asian Games hammer crown from 2018 as he finished behind Asian champion Qi Wang of China. Ashraf Elseify managed a season’s best throw of 72.42m to claim the silver, 55cm short of Qi Wang’s winning throw. Ashraf Elseify’s brother Ahmed was 7th in the same final.
Musab Adam Ali missed out on a medal as he finished fourth in the 3,000m steeple chase, however, he did set a new personal best of 8.32.57.
In squash Abdulla Al Tamimi, had to settle for a bronze medal after losing 3-1 in the semi-finals to Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, the current world number 18.
Abdulla Al Tamimi, who was given a bye in the first round, had easily won his first two singles matches 3-0 to reach the semi-finals and guarantee himself at least a bronze medal.
Midway through the third game, with the match evenly poised at 1-1, Mohamed Al Tamimi was forced to take an injury time out and returned to court with a support on his knee. Eain Yow Ng went on to win the third and fourth games to earn the win and progress to the final.
The success of the four graduates again highlights the success that can be achieved thanks to the ongoing cooperation between Aspire Academy and the Qatar Athletics Federation and the Qatar Squash Federation.
Aspire Academy are proud to offer a platform for talented young Qatari sportsmen to develop into champions.