Abdalelah Haroun (C).
One of Qatar’s promising athletes, Abdalelah Haroun suffered an injury during a training session yesterday, and will miss the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships.
The 21-year-old Asian Games double gold medallist who enjoyed an amazing 14 podium victories including nine wins last season, was named in the 29-member Qatari contingent for the showpiece event few weeks ago.
He was one of the top contenders in his pet event, the men’s 400 metres and was also part of the 4x400m relay team.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s two-time Olympic medallist Mutaz Barshim also announced yesterday that he will not take part in the event which begins tomorrow.
The World Champion in high jump, yesterday said that the decision was taken after consulting with his technical team led by his coach, to give more time to prepare for the upcoming events.
Accordingly, Barshim, the IAAF Athlete-of-the-Year in 2017, will start the season in June, mainly focused on the World Championships which will be held in Doha later this year.
One of the most outstanding athletes Qatar has ever produced, Barshim has not competed since July last year due to an injury.
Before his season was cut short, Barshim showed the world that he is the one to beat, clearing a world-leading 2.40-metre mark twice.
