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Japan to jeopardise China`s supremacy in track events
Continent`s athletics powerhouses China, Japan and emerging powers like Bahrain and Qatar will battle it out for supremacy in track and field, the blue ribbon events of the Asian Games starting here from today.
The event provides Japan an opportunity to test their preparations before the World Championship to be held in Osaka next year and for China to test their wares before the ultimate competition at the Beijing Olympiad.
Though the world record holder and Olympic champion in 110 meters hurdle Liu Xiang of China will be the star of the competition, the focus will be on the ''imported athletes'' of the Gulf countries.
Many of the countries, especially India, are wary of the athletes of African origin who will be turning up for their adopted home countries here. But still, the Chinese are likely to dominate their pet events.
Japan was a dominant force in Asian athletics till the 1982 Games. But after that, China is ruling the roost and now the former leader is attempting to challenge and regain the glory though it looks a hard task ahead for them as the Chinese seem to be in no mood to give up their hegemony.
A lot of sheen has been taken away from the competition here with the withdrawal of world record holder in the 3000 metres steeplechase, Saif Saaeed Shaheen due to an achilles tendon injury.
He was expected to lead the home country's assault on the medals along with many of his former countrymen from Kenya. A further setback for the games came when it was announced that Olympic hammer throw champion, Koji Murofushi of Japan, had also withdrawn.
With an eye on the Beijing Olympics, China has entered many of their young athletes here. But the cynosure of all eyes will be Liu Xiang. His Olympic gold in Athens provided a new thrust to country's athletics and his world record of 12.88 seconds in Lausanne in June this year further boosted his image.
China does not have anyone of Liu Xiang's caliber in the women's section in track events though Yang Yaozu, the 25-year-old sprinter, should be a formidable contender in the 100 metres.
It is in the jumps and throws that the they will parade their tremendous depth and talent with 18-year-old Huang Haiqiang (high jump) and 22-year-old Li Yanxi (triple jump) being prominent gold medal contenders.
Zhang Qi (shot put), Li Rongxiang and Chen Qi (javelin) are the other likely candidates among Chinese men who should be among the medals.
Host Qatar should be aiming to gather the maximum medals from the middle and long distance events with former Kenyans Youssef Saad Kamel (800 metres) and Essa Ismail Rasheed (10,000 metres) leading contenders.
Challenge to them comes from the other world-class 'imports' in the Bahrain team, especially the double world champion Rashid Ramzi, a former Moroccan.
Ramzi set an Asian record of 3:29.14 in the 1500 metres this season in the Golden Gala Golden League meet in Rome in July. He had won the last time when he was almost unknown in the Asian circles, but since then has acquired an image of a world-beater thanks to his 800-1500 double at last year's World Championships in Helsinki.
Bahrain is also be fielding a former Jamaican, Brandon Simpson, who is the only athlete to have clocked below 45 seconds for the 400 metres this year among Asians.
Japanese Yuzo Kanemaru and Sri Lankan Rohan Pradeep Kumara are expected to be the main challengers of Simpson.
In the absence of Shaheen, Bahrain's Tareq Mubarak Taher, is favourite in steeplechase. Taher, formerly Dennis Kipkurui Keter of Kenya, won the silver at this year's world junior championships, and has a best of 8:11.36 for the year.
Japan looks set to be a close competitor to China. The country has strong contenders in men's 400m hurdles (Kenji Narisako and Naohira Kawakita), high jump (Naoyuki Daigo), pole vault (Daichi Sawano) apart from the redoubtable Shingo Suetsugu in the 200m.
Saudi Arabia's best bet is their long jumper Mohammad Salman al-Khuwalidi who set an Asian record of 8.48 metres in long jump in July this year. Saudis should also be looking forward to their shot putter Sultan Abdulmajid al-Habshi delivering the gold ahead of India's Navpreet Singh, Qatar's Asian champion Khalid Habash al-Suwaidi and Chinese Zhang Qi.
Al-Habshi is the only Asian to have crossed 20 metres in the 2006 season in Asia.
It is in the women's section China's dominance will be decisive. Though the track supremacy had diminished considerably from 1998 onwards, they still look very formidable in the jumps and throws.
They look poised to make a clean sweep of the throws medals with some of the events likely to provide them the gold and silver. The last time, India's Neelam J Singh had stopped Chinese Song Aimin in the discus competition, but this time the Chinese looks in good form, though she is only No 2 in the season lists behind her team-mate Ma Xuejun.
In the distance events also, Chinese are likely to retain their stranglehold though missing from the field will be long distance runners Sun Yingjie, because of a doping ban, and Olympic 10,000 metres champion Xing Huina whose absence has not been explained.
One woman who is bound to dominate the games should be Bahrain's Maryam Yusuf Jamal. The former Ethiopian who has been entered in the 800m, 1500m and 5000m, has the ability to win all the three gold medals, but it is to be seen whether she would compete in all three eventually.
Jamal is unmatched in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Her credentials are so imposing that the others will naturally try to follow her rather than do the front-running. Indians S Shanthi and Sinimole Paulose could be her closest challengers in the 800 and 1500 while Japanese Kayoko Fukushi and Kayo Sugihara could upset her plans in the 5000 metres if she was competing in that event.
One of the most keenly-fought duels in the women's section could be the sprints showdown between Bahrain's Rakia al-Gassra and Sri Lankan Susanthika Jayasinghe.
The Sri Lankan had won the 100 metres in Busan before pulling out of the 200 metres. She now has to tackle a formidable adversary in the 24-year-old Arab woman.
Bureau Report