KUWAIT/HANGZHOU: Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Mohammad Al-Aiban said Saturday Kuwaiti athletes have made outstanding achievements at the 19th Asian Games. They have won medals to the delight of all Kuwaiti people, he told reporters after arriving home with the medalists.
Shooters Abdullah Al-Turqi Al-Rashidi won a gold medal in the men’s skeet event on Wednesday, and a silver along with Iman Al-Shamaa in the mixed skeet competition on Thursday, while fencer Yousef Al-Shamlan won a bronze in the saber competition on Monday. Aiban attributed the achievements to the encouragement the athletes got after their meeting with HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ahead of the competitions.
The minister expected Kuwaiti athletes to add more medals to Kuwait’s tally in the remaining days of the games. On Sunday, Talal Al-Rashidi won the silver medal in the men’s trap shooting event, while Kuwait’s shooting team of Khaled Al-Mudhaf, Talal Al-Rashidi and Abdulrahman Al-Faihan won the silver medal in the men’s trap-50 event. The 19th Asian Games opened in Hangzhou in China’s Zhejiang province on Sept 24 and continue until Oct 8.
Meanwhile, an athletics official suffered a broken leg at the Asian Games after being hit by a hammer hurled during competition by Kuwait’s Ali Zankawi. The official, named as Huang Qinghua, was sitting on a chair outside the throwing circle when Zankawi aborted his attempt on Saturday evening, with his hammer hitting the protective netting. But rather than stopping, the metal ball that weighs over 7 kg slammed into the technical official’s right leg.
Pictures showed Huang in agony, blood pouring from his shin, as Zankawi rushed to help him. He was carried out of the arena on a stretcher and received emergency treatment on site, before being taken to hospital for surgery. The 62-year-old was in a stable condition after suffering a fractured tibiofibular joint, Chinese state media said. Zankawi, a silver medalist at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, told AFP he visited Huang in his hospital bed on Sunday and apologized. The apology was accepted and they took a photograph together.
Describing the accident, the 39-year-old said: "I raised my head and discovered that the hammer had bounced from the ground to the official’s leg, so I quickly ran to him and tried to help him, especially since he was in a state of shock and writhing in pain. After I got to him, I discovered a slit in his trousers and saw blood pouring from the leg, and I knew it was broken. Then I tied it tightly to stop the bleeding until the ambulance arrived, so I helped them by putting him on an ambulance stretcher to transport him to hospital.” Zankawi, who finished eighth behind Chinese winner Wang Qi, was shaken by the incident but said it could have been far worse. "Thank god the hammer hit the ground before it hit his leg,” he said. – Agencies