Kuwaiti Shammari Fawzi, 23, crossed the finish line in 44.93
seconds to take the men's 400m gold medalat the Busan Asian Games
on Wednesday afternoon.
This was the first gold medal for the Kuwaiti Asiad delegation.
Edging Hamdan Bishi from Saudi Arabia in the last meter,
Fawzi,whose season best stood at 46.65 seconds, made a brillant
comebackand led Bishi only half a head to claim the title.
Bishi had to settle for the second place in 44.95 seconds, while
Pradeep Handunpurage from Sri Lanka finished third in 45.67
seconds.
Abbas Albasri, the Kuwaiti athletic team manager, told Xinhua that
it was not unexpected for Fawzi to take the gold because he has the
strength.
"Fawzi had his training in Kuwait only. He has never gone to Europe
or the United States to practice. Sometimes, he went to other
countries but only for competitions," Albasri said.
"Fawzi will also compete in the men's 200 meters, and I expect him
to achieve more," he said.
(Xinhua News
Agency October 9, 2002)