Doha: UAE struck two golds late yesterday in the 12th Arab Games when Marwan Al Maazmi won the men's individual karate while Aliah Saeed added another with a first place in the women's 5,000 metres in athletics, while her teammate Betlhem Belayneh bagged the silver for a one-two finish.
Al Maazmi defeated Egyptian Khalil Mustafa in the final to grab the gold medal in the Karate event after beating Ely Tleimidi from Mauritania in the first round, Saeed Idris of Iraq in the second and Djafar Islam El Mehdi of Algeria in the semi-finals.
There was double joy for the UAE yesterday when the women runners Aliah and Betlhem both ran a tactical race until the last lap when they together overcame the strong opposition from the Bahraini and Moroccan runners to win the gold and silver respectively.
Aliah missed the 1,500-metre race three days ago because of an injury but she made up in style yesterday, finishing the race in 16:11.54 minutes while Betlhem, who won a bronze medal in the 1,500m, came second in 16:12.71 as Bahrain runner Eshete Habregebrel won the bronze in 16:15.26.
