Pakistan beat Belgium 3-2

SINGAPORE: Pakistan defeated Belgium 3-2 in a closely-contested Pool A match at the first Youth Olympics.

Muhammad Irfan spearheaded Pakistan’s campaign by scoring in the 15th minute but Belgium kept the pressure on as they soon equalised the score in the 29th minute courtesy Alexander Hendrickx. From then on, the match was tussle between each team’s number eleven. Muhammad Arslan Qadir and Hendrickx battled it out, as they both scored in the 36th and 47th minute respectively, until Qadir sealed Pakistan’s victory in the 58th minute.

France, Denmark hurdle to first medal

French hurdler Aurelie Chaboudez claimed her country’s first athletics medal at the event when she won the girls 400-metre hurdles with a 58.41-seconds run. She was followed closely by Denmark’s Stina Troest, who also won her country’s first medal at the Bishan Stadium.

Meanwhile, three other countries won gold at the athletics competition. South Africa pole vaulter Migael Cellius and Swedish jumper Khadijatou Sagnia, who bagged her second gold medal, were clear winners in their respective finals, but distance runner Tizita Ashame of Ethiopia won her event by a knife-edge.

China’s sprint star

China’s Zhenye Xie won the boys 200-metre in the last of the sprint events at the Youth Olympic Games, holding off a strong challenge from Japan’s Keisuke Homma. Xie was well placed throughout, despite the closeness of the times as he clocked 22.22 seconds to Homma’s 22.27. The bronze medal went to Germany’s Patrick Domogala.

Nkiruka Florence Nwakwe completed a girls sprint double for Nigeria when she stormed to victory in the 200-metre final less than 24 hours after her compatriot Josephine Omaka had taken gold in the 100-metre. Nwakwe, who crossed the line with a celebratory wave, sees her win as a major stepping stone to an international career. “I was a no one. Now I am someone,” she said. “This means a lot to me and everyone who has supported me.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2010.