IT was a Golden Day for Bahrain at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Bahrain not only added a gold and silver to its kitty but also saw Ruth Jebet restored as 3,000m steeplechase champion after the 17-year-old was stripped of her title on Saturday for a minor infringement.
Jebet had been distraught after her disqualification for stepping inside the track was announced just as the medal was to be presented on Saturday night.
Jebet stood emotionless on the podium for the new ceremony with second-placed runner Li Zhenzhu of China and bronze winner Lalita Babar of India.
‘After the problem I had yesterday with the line I was so worried,’ she said. ‘But my King promised me that we would get back my medal.
‘I’m very happy today because I have my medal. This is a big medal for me,’ Jebet said.
Jebet was reinstated after a review of the race found that her mistake on the penultimate lap had not impeded another runner or influenced the race outcome.
‘The jury reviewed all of the protests by the three Olympic committees and they confirmed that there was no violation of the rules and the gold medal will be given again to Bahrain runner Ruth Jebet,’ Olympic Council of Asia games director Haidar Farman announced.
Jebet destroyed the field in Saturday’s race, crossing the line in nine minutes, 31.36 seconds, more than 24 seconds inside the Games record.
Later in the day Bahrain’s joy doubled as Oluwakemi Adekoya won women’s 400m final in style.
The 21-year-old clocked an impressive 51.59 seconds to give Bahrain its second athletics gold medal with Vietnam’s Quach Thi Lan (52.06) and Poovamma Raju Machettira (52.36) of India finishing second and third respectively.
Abbas Abubakar then secured Bahrain’s second silver medal finishing second in the men’s 400m final with a time of 45.62 seconds. Saudi Arabia’s Yousef Masrahi (44.46) won the gold while India’s Arokia Rajiv (45.92) claimed bronze.
In other athletics events, Bahrain’s Benson Seurei and Rashid Ramzi topped the men’s 1,500m heats and booked a place in the second round.
Seurei completed his heat in 3:44.64 seconds while Ramzi clocked 3:52.92.
Bahrainis were also in action in sailing and cycling events. On the second day of Match Racing, Ebrahim Abdulla, Daij Al Dossary, Abdulla Al Naar and Abdulrahim Abdulla started with a defeat at the hands of Singapore but came back strongly and won the next two races against Singapore and India.
In cycling, Sayed Ahmed Khalil finished 14th among 48 cyclists in the men’s road race. The 27-year-old clocked 4:13:04. Another Bahraini Ahmed Bassem finished 28th in a time of 4:17.10.
In handball, Bahrain take on hosts South Korea for a place in the final at 12noon Bahrain time.
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