Jamal shows world credentials

GUANGZHOU - Maryam Jamal lived up to her world champion billing by easily defending her 1,500m title at the Asian Games to lead her adopted country, Bahrain, to double gold on Tuesday.

Maryam Jamal of Bahrain celebrates winning gold in the women's 1,500m final at the Asian Games on Tuesday. [Photo/China Daily]?

On a night when five of the nine track medals went to African-born athletes, long jumper Jung Soon-ok won Korea's first gold medal and Li Yanfeng maintained China's dominance in women's field events by wrapping up the discus.

The Ethiopian-born Jamal, whose 800-1,500m double at the 2006 Asiad in Doha was followed by the 1,500m titles at the 2007 and 2009 world championships, dominated a slow-paced race she never looked like losing.

"I'm feeling good. I'm just happy winning," said Jamal, adding she "controlled the race from the start" and was more concerned about taking the gold than her pedestrian time of 4min 8.22sec.

Jamal said she and Bahraini teammate Mimi Gebregeiorges, another Ethiopian competing for the Gulf state, had helped each other out during the race, and stated she would now go for a golden double.

"I will compete in (Thursday's) 800m and I want to win another gold medal," said the 26-year-old, who unsuccessfully applied for citizenship in the United States, Switzerland and France before settling on Bahrain.

"I did it four years ago in Doha and I want to defend it for Bahrain and for me. I'm still the best in the world."

Kicking at the bell for the final lap, Jamal took Gebregeiorges with her, but as the duo entered the home stretch, Jamal eased away.

Gebregeiorges, however, was caught by Vietnam's Truong Thanh Hang, who hung on to win a surprise silver and prevent a Bahraini one-two.

There was no second gold over the distance for the Bahrain team as Belal Mansoor Ali, formerly known as Kenyan John Yego, could only manage third in the men's event.

With Ali's Kenyan-born teammate and world champion Youssef Saad Kamel having failed to qualify for the final, and now engaged in a public spat with Bahraini athletics officials over allegations they had made him run while injured, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Shaween claimed gold.

Asian champion Shaween clocked a Games record of 3:36.49, with Iran's Sajad Moradi taking silver.

But there was another gold for Bahrain in the shape of Tareq Mubarak Taher, the former Kenyan once known as Dennis Kipkurui Keter, who successfully defended his 3,000m steeplechase crown.

Qatar's Thamer Kamal, previously named Thomas Kosgei of Kenya, had to finish with silver.

"I was nervous at the very beginning but I sped up in the last two laps and finally won," said Taher, admitting he had felt under pressure coming into the race.

"It did pressure me, but I always believe I'm the No 1 in Asia and I'm trying to be the No 1 in the world."

But Qatar at least had the pleasure of seeing a home-grown talent win the men's high jump, as Mutaz Barshim's best of 2.27m saw him finish clear of Japan's Hiromi Takahari, with another Qatari, Rashid al-Mannai, among three tied for bronze.

Uzbek Yuliya Tarasova, fresh from breaking off to win bronze in the long jump, wrapped up the heptathlon, notching 5,783 points after dominating the gruelling seven-discipline, two-day event.