Asia’s track and field stars set to light up Hangzhou

HANGZHOU – High jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim has amassed an extensive collection of medals and trophies in his career, including an Olympic gold and three world titles. You name it, he has won it.

But visitors to his Doha home will not be able to catch sight of any of these.

That is because he does not even have a trophy cabinet, telling Esquire Middle East in an interview that he “puts everything in a secret place where nobody can see them”.

On the hunt for his third Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, Barshim might have had a change of heart. In a recent interview with the Indian Express, he said: “I need to take a moment and give myself some appreciation because even if you come to my house, you’re not going to find any of my medals or trophies because I always feel like I don’t want to be satisfied.”

It is this insatiable hunger that has kept the 32-year-old Qatari going, especially when he first started jumping and was “always the worst” athlete.

He first tasted international success in 2010, with a world junior championships and Asian Games gold.

Thirteen years on, Barshim, whose personal best (PB) of 2.43m is just 2cm short of Cuban Javier Sotomayor’s 30-year-old world record, shows no sign of stopping and is among several track and field stars who are raising the bar for Asia.

The gold medallist in 2010 and 2014, he missed out on a three-peat in Jakarta in 2018 due to a foot injury.

His form in 2023 suggests that a third Asiad gold is well within reach, as he won two legs of the Diamond League and clinched bronze at the world championships. His season best of 2.36m has been matched by only two others – reigning world champion Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and American JuVaughn Harrison.

South Korea’s Woo Sang-hyeok will be his main challenger with a PB of 2.35m.

Barshim will be joined by other top athletes in the track and field competition, which begins at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on Friday.

On the track, Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira will headline the women’s 100m and 200m after clinching double gold at the Asian Championships in July, while Bahrain’s 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser will be out for glory in the women’s 400m.

Compatriot Winfred Mutile Yavi also looks set to dominate the women’s 3,000m steeplechase after posting 8min 50.66sec at the Diamond League finals – the second-fastest time in the event.

The contest for the men’s 100m title will be a thrilling one between Japan’s Yoshihide Kiryu and China’s Xie Zhenye, who hold the third (10.03 seconds) and fourth (10.05sec) fastest times in 2023. Malaysia’s Azeem Fahmi and Thai starlet Puripol Boonson could also be in the mix.

Fans will also be on the lookout for the Indian men’s 4x400m relay team of Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh, who clocked an Asian record of 2min 59.05sec in the 2023 world championships heats and finished fifth in the final.

Looking to inspire the home crowd is Chinese shot putter Gong Lijiao, who in August won a record eighth straight individual medal at the world championships to add to her Tokyo Olympics gold.

The “village girl” from Hebei is also grooming the next generation of Chinese shot put talent.

“Shot put is not very popular in China, and I want to attract more people to the sport. Becoming the Olympic champion raised my profile and, more importantly, the profile of women’s shot put,” said the 34-year-old in an interview with China Daily.

“I will try to push myself to the Paris Olympics and I’m also helping to nurture more talented young athletes.”

Compatriots Feng Bin, who won a world championship discus title in 2022, and Olympic javelin champion Liu Shiying will also be the ones to watch. With Japan’s newly crowned world champion Haruka Kitaguchi absent, Liu and compatriot Lyu Huihui will be battling it out for the gold.

The fight for the men’s javelin title is set to be a fiery one. India’s Neeraj Chopra has been in scintillating form in 2023, striking gold at the world championships and winning the Doha and Lausanne legs of the Diamond League series.

Chopra, whose personal best is 89.94m, will come up against Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who finished behind the Indian at the world meet.

Nadeem broke the 90m mark with his 90.18m effort en route to gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, a feat that Chopra has yet to replicate.

Closer to home, E.J. Obiena has also been putting South-east Asia on the map, with the Filipino pole vaulter pocketing silver at the world meet where he matched his Asian record of 6m, improving on his bronze from 2022.

The 27-year-old, who is the only athlete from his country to win a medal at the world championships, is just one of three pole vaulters to clear 6m in 2023.

For these trailblazers, there will always be room for an Asian Games gold in their trophy cabinet.