Dubai: Betlhem Desalegn Belayneh is targeting success at next month’s World Championships after winning the UAE’s first ever gold at the Asian Athletics Championship on Friday.

She powered to victory in the women’s 1,500 metres held at the Balewadi Sports Complex in the western Indian city of Pune.

Belayneh gold took the UAE’s medal tally to two following teammate Alia Saeed’s silver in the women’s 10,000 metres on Wednesday.

Friday’s triumph also helped the 21-year-old banish the memories of the disappointment at last year’s London Olympics, where she finished a poor heat in a time of 4:14.07 minutes to end 35th from a total of 46 women who participated in the 1,500 metres.

Immediately after receiving her gold medal from IAAF council member and President of the UAE Athletics Federation, Adv Ahmad Al Kamali, the wiry Belayneh told Gulf News that she will be going for gold at this summer’s World Championships in Moscow between August 10 and 18.

“This is the first ever gold athletics medal in Asia for the UAE and this can only act as a huge motivation for me to work even harder and get a similar medal at the World Championships in Moscow,” Belayneh said.

“This medal is for my country. I feel so proud to become the first UAE athlete to win such a medal. It is such an amazing feeling.”

Belayneh finished in a time of 4.13 minutes, well below her personal best of 4.05 minutes, and was followed by Bahrain’s Mimi Belete Gebregeiorgi while Ayako Jinnouchi of Japan came third.

This is the first athletics gold medal for the UAE on the continental stage. Shaikh Ahmad Hasher Al Maktoum is the only athlete from the country who has won Olympic gold, when he shot his way to sporting stardom at the 2004 Athens Games.

“The feeling at the moment is simply awesome,” Al Kamali said. “We have been preparing for this day for a long time now and finally our hard work has been rewarded.”

The race was a tactical one, with Belayneh preferring to stay in a pack of favourites that included Gebregeiorgi and Jinnouchi. After the first lap, the UAE athlete moved into eighth position and then eased into the front pack on the final lap bell.

However, her burst in the last 300 metres made the difference between success and failure as it left Gebregeiorgi and Jinnouchi battling it out for silver and bronze respectively.

“We needed a medal like this to prove to all that we are capable of delivering at the highest level,” Al Kamali said. “For the time being it means celebrating this moment. After that we will sit and discuss the next step in preparations for our athletes.”

The 20th Asian Athletics Championships will conclude on Sunday.