Ajami aiming for Asian Games glory after Sanya success
Iranian shot putter Hassan Ajami says he will be looking to build on his gold-winning campaign at the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China, when chasing glory at September’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Ajami opened the account for the Iranian delegation at the multi-sport event – thanks to a sixth and final effort of 20.17m that saw the Iranian beat the host nation’s Chen Chengyu and Zhang Haochen to the top prize – as the country, represented by 57 athletes across 10 sports, went on to finish third behind China and Thailand in the medals table with nine golds and a single silver.
“The level of competition was very high, and most teams arrived at full strength. The results and records achieved in this edition were notably better than the previous one, which shows just how competitive the event in Sanya was,” Ajami told Mehr News Agency.
Regarding his own performance, Ajami said: “I am pretty satisfied with how I did. I managed to achieve my ideal mark and ultimately claim the title.
“Iran’s delegation traveled to the Games under difficult circumstances, but overall, I believe we achieved decent results,” added the Iranian, referring to the wartime situation in the country.
Ajami also opened up about his own challenges before heading to the event. “Compared to my rivals, I went through very tough days in terms of preparation. At one point, the country was going through a difficult period, and training was called off for a while. After that, our preparation started late. In a sport like athletics, any interruption first makes you fall behind yourself, and then you fall further behind your competitors. Fortunately, I was able to produce an acceptable performance, and I am happy with the outcome.”
He noted an unusual reversal of fortune between two recent competitions. “Before this, at the Asian Indoor Championships in China, I had better training conditions and was in much better form, but I did not get a good result there. At the Beach Games, the situation reversed, as despite being less prepared, I managed to achieve a much better outcome.”
Ajami had placed fourth at the Asian Indoor event in Tianjin with a best attempt of 19.39m.
Ajami was keen to stress that the Sanya field was not weak. “It is worth noting that the gold medalist at the Asian Indoor Championships came second here. So no one can say the level of these games was low.”
Looking ahead, Ajami made it clear that the Asian Games later in the summer will be his primary target in the coming months. “The Beach Games served as a warm-up for Nagoya. There is not much time left until that competition. I will give everything I have to be among those selected and to perform well there.”
He drew a direct comparison to underscore his ambitions. “If I had recorded the same mark at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou that I achieved here, I could have won a gold medal. My goal is to be present in Nagoya and achieve a result worthy of myself and my country.”
Addressing the lineup of Iran’s athletics squad in Sanya, Ajami said: “The federation had announced that this was not the main team, and that the trip was largely for gaining experience. That does not, however, mean that some athletes have lost their chance to go to Nagoya. Several young athletes were sent to gain experience, while others were there to win medals. I will not comment on other athletes, but I believe my own performance was a decent one.”