Asian U18 Athletics Championships:
Iran’s Shahpari shatters national record to win 3000m bronze
The third day of the Asian U18 Athletics Championships saw Iranian girl Samia Shahpari bag a second bronze medal for the country in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Representing the country in the women’s 3000m final on Thursday, Shahpari clocked 10:09.07 minutes, breaking the national junior and cadet records, to finish behind Uzbekistan’s Anastasiya Silchenkova and Suolang Zhuoma of China.
Silchenkova also registered a personal-best record with 9:45.17 minutes, while Zhuoma crossed the finish line in 10:00.44 minutes.
Amirreza Ahanin-Maram had bagged a first medal for Iran in the Saudi coastal city, when he grabbed a bronze in the boys’ hammer throw event on Day 1 of the competitions.
The Iranian began the final showpiece with a 67.74m effort, and then went on to register 69.88m, before his final attempt of 70.83m saw Ahanin-Maram finish on the third podium.
The host’s Mohammed Siraj Alzayer walked away with the gold medal thanks to a 79.11m attempt, with Chinese Wang Ankang settling for the silver with 74.81m.
Elsewhere on Thursday, Kiarash Kaboli missed out on the men’s shot put podium, finishing fourth with a best attempt of 18.26m, with his compatriot Arman Amini settling for the sixth place in the category with 17.8m.
China’s Han Qigeng walked away with the men’s shot put gold – thanks to a new Asian U18 record of 20.23m with his fifth throw – followed by Indian Nishchay (19.59m) and Singapore’s Anson Loh (18.59m).
Meanwhile, Iranian sprinter failed to progress to the men’s 200m final after clocking 22.67 seconds in the semifinals.