One athlete was disqualified from the Asian Games for importing
drugs while another got the chop from karate on a turbulent Tuesday
at the Asian Games.
Officials were also fielding angry complaints as both Malaysia
and South Korea fumed at perceived injustices.
On the field of play China added to their nation's mammoth medal
haul, led by Olympic champion and world record-holder Liu Xiang who
strolled to gold in the 110m hurdles in an Asian Games record time
of 13.15 seconds.
"I am now in excellent condition," said Liu.
By the end of day 11 of competition China had amassed 137 gold
medals from the 345 on offer. With three days competition
remaining, they are chasing the 150 they won in Pusan at the last
Games.
South Korea are in second place in the standings with 47 golds,
one more than third-placed Japan.
Bodybuilder Saeaz Faeaz was disqualified from the Games after
134 ampoules of the banned muscle-building steroid nandrolone were
found in Iraqi luggage at Doha airport.
After the December 4 find and a probe into the case, organisers
staged a hearing with the athlete having established the luggage
had been his.
"During the hearing he (Faeaz) admitted that this bag and all
134 ampoules belonged to him. That he brought it inside the
country," director general of the Olympic Council of Asia Husain Al
Musallam told reporters.
TEENAGER CHOPPED
The 32-year-old from Baghdad became the fifth competitor to be
disqualified from the 15th Games for a drugs-related offence, but
the first to be sanctioned for a non-analytical anti-doping
violation.
Four weightlifters had earlier been disqualified for failing
drug tests.
Iraq's soccer team soon restored smiles to the Iraqi camp,
however, with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the fancied South
Korean team to reach Friday's final.
They will play Qatar in Friday's final after the hosts romped to
a riveting 2-0 win over Iran.
The adage that if you are good enough you are old enough clearly
did not apply in the case of 13-year-old schoolgirl Haya Samir
Jumaa.
The teenager from the United Arab Emirates was disqualified from
the women's individual kata when her age was spotted, despite
having already competed in two contests.
Doha 2006 karate contest rules, set by the Asian Karate
Federation, state competitors must be aged 16 or over.
"It happens all the time," karate competition manager Mohammad
Al Rumihi said.
The OCA, however, was furious.
FORMAL PROTEST
"The decision of the Asian Karate Federation to disqualify the
athlete after completing two matches is totally unacceptable," Al
Musallam said. "In the Asian Games, we don't have age limits."
Seething Malaysian hockey officials accused Japan, Hong Kong and
Pakistan of fixing results of matches after their team was
eliminated, while South Korea's handball squad raged at
refereeing.
The Malaysians said they would lodge an official protest against
the three teams whom they claim fixed the outcome of the men's
group A matches.
Five-times champions South Korea branded the Asian Games
handball competition an "embarrassment" to the sport after their
controversial loss to Qatar in the semi-finals on Monday.
The Koreans were forced to play shorthanded for most of the
night after the game's two Kuwaiti referees hit them with a string
of penalties.
Korea had already lodged a formal protest concerning "biased
refereeing" in their loss to Kuwait on Saturday, state news agency
Yonhap reported. The two referees from that match were from
Qatar.
"I have been playing this game for 20 years and have never seen
anything like it," said Yoon Kyung-shin, who was world player of
the year in 2001. "It makes an embarrassment of handball. It was
like child's play at times."
(China Daily via Reuters December 13, 2006)