(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar's Jamal Hairane won an unexpected bronze yesterday after the top three finishers in the men's 800m final were sensationally disqualified.
Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Mohamed, Qatar's Musaab Abdulrahman Bala and Bahrain's Abraham Kipchirchir Rotich who finished first, second and third had their results cancelled. The Incheon Asiad's official website said Mohamed was disqualified for obstruction while Bala and Rotich were penalised for breaking lane regulations.
Just after the bell for the last lap, Mohamed faltered and appeared to grab Rotich's shirt, almost pulling off his bib number.
The ruling helped Iraq's Adnan Taess Akkar win Iraq's first gold medal at the Incheon Asian Games with China's Teng Haining taking the silver and Haraine getting the bronze.
A Saudi official said the team were appealing against the disqualification, saying Mohamed had stumbled innocently and had not impeded the Bahraini. Officials from Qatar and Bahrain said their delegations had also protested.
Speaking before the disqualification was announced, Mohammed played down the incident.
"There was some touching between me and the Bahraini - I wanted to move out but the touching stopped me. There was no grabbing (of the shirt)," he said through a translator.
But a Bahrain official insisted Rotich had been impeded and had only left his lane because his shirt was pulled. "Between the Saudi and the Indian there was jostling, when the Saudi went to fall he took our athlete by the shirt," a Bahrain official said. "He is a victim, he did nothing wrong. It's not Bahrain's fault."
Remarkably, Akkar said it was not the first time he had been promoted from fourth to gold.
"A similar thing happened in China in 2011 and thankfully, due to a right and just decision I was able to get the gold medal then as well," the Iraqi said.
The drama comes just days after Bahrain's Ruth Jebet was stripped of her steeplechase win as she was about to step onto the victory podium, only to be reinstated the next day.
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