Qatar wins soccer gold to add colour to a spectacular closing ceremony

Dinesh WEERAWANSA

ASIAN GAMES: What a night it was! The greatest sporting event ever to be held in Qatar as the 15th Asian Games came to an end with a spectacular closing ceremony held at the Khalifa Syadium here today.

It was a double cerebration for the proud host nation as they won the most sought after prize in Asian soccer - the Asian Games gold medal. Just minutes away from the long whistle, the Al-Sadd Football Stadium broke into an explosion of joy as Qatar's heroic footballers clinched the last gold medal of the 44-nation Games.

Their ecstatic maroon-shirted players, realised their dream of being crowned the Asian Games champions with a thrilling 1-0 win over Iraq. It was the golden boot of Mohammed Bilal Rajab that brought fortune for the hosts.

Rajab became an instant hero, scoring the solitary match winning goal after 62 minutes of a match Qatar dominated from start to finish. In front of an expectant crowd at Al-Sadd, Qatar attacked from the kick-off and missed a number of chances before the crucial breakthrough came.

In-form Sebastian Quintana went close to adding to his four goals in the competition after only six minutes.

The striker connected with a header from a corner but saw it pushed on to the bar by Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Khadum.

Ali Nasser Saleh dragged a shot wide from 20 yards and Khalfan Ibrahi Al Khalfan tricked his way past two players but failed to deliver a telling cross from the right wing.

On 32 minutes Qatar went close again when Rajab was left unmarked in the penalty area but could not connect properly with his header.

With seconds to go before the half time whistle, Quintana took a ball on the left and sent two defenders the wrong way as he cut inside to open up an ambitious shooting opportunity.

But the tall forward, too intent on shooting, kept his head down and failed to see an unmarked teammate in a much better position on the edge of the box.

Closing ceremony

Today's grand closing ceremony conducted under lights was a night to remember as 15 days of exciting action in 39 disciplines came to an end.

The magnificent spectacle at Khalifa Stadium celebrated the success of Doha 2006 as Qatar bid farewell to the athletes and visitors who have lit up the 15th Asian Games.

Over forty thousand spectators packed the flagship venue of the Games to be taken on a journey into the story-telling traditions of Arabic culture.

The tale of One Thousand and One Nights, one of the Arab world's most loved literary works, came to life in a show watched by an estimated global television audience of three billion.

Doha's sports spectacle - Khalifa's awe-inspiring interior has played host to fantastic athletic competition over the past two weeks, witnessing two athletics gold for the host nation - not including the marathon gold - four silver and one bronze, making the Qataris who flocked to cheer on their heroes immensely proud of their country's sporting prowess and of the magnificence of Doha 2006 as a whole.

Volunteer performers in costumes from around the world - including 1,000 metres of gold fabric - entertained the crowd during the two hour at Khalifa, as more than 2,370 tons of steel transform the stadium from a centre for athletic performance to an outdoor theatre.

There were many surprises to thrill the capacity crowd, alongside a spectacular fireworks display using 3,200 pyrotechnical effects, and a tribute to Qatar in a segment dedicated to the Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

The closing ceremony was a rich blend of Arabic culture and aspirations of Asian youth in the sporting arena.

It was Chinese dominance right throughout the Games.

Their gold medal haul of 165 is more than double that of the nearest competing country - Korea, who scooped 58 gold and a total of 193 medals overall.

Japan collected 50 gold and 198 of all colours. China's Doha gold fiesta surpasses their achievement in Busan 2002 - a tally of 150 gold. Even their overall total of 316 is far higher than the 258 they secured four years ago.

Meanwhile, Iran's 55-year wait for an Asian Games medal in men's basketball ended in dramatic fashion when they staved off a spirited Jordan fightback to claim the bronze medal with an 84-78 victory at the Basketball Indoor Hall toda.

A much more convincing victory had seemed on the cards midway through the third quarter when Iran piled on the points, scoring 18 of the 22 points in the opening five minutes to establish a commanding 61-36 lead.

However they hadn't counted on Jordan coach Mario Palma's timeout resulting in an amazing reversal of fortunes as his players drew inspiration from their passionate flag-waving supporters to come storming back from a game-high 27 point deficit.

Basketball action

Every Iranian miss or Jordan basket was greeted by huge cheers from the partisan crowd, who leapt to their feet as the lead was gradually eaten into, a 15-point run helping Jordan to end the quarter only 11 points adrift at 67-56.

They weren't finished there though with Enver Soobzokov and Islam Abbas stepping up to shoulder responsibility with captain Zaid Al Khas on the bench after picking up three personal fouls as Jordan cut the deficit to just five points with four minutes 40 seconds of the physical game remaining.

However this was as close as the Jordanians got to their first ever medal in the sport as, despite having star playmaker Mahdi Kamrany to a knee injury seconds later, Iran scored a couple of quick baskets to ease any nerves that were setting in.

The margin remained around 10 points until the final minute, Jordan simply unable to pull off what would have ranked among the greatest comebacks of all time, leaving their players and fans exhausted and distraught at the final buzzer.

At the other end the Iranians went wild, grabbing a giant flag from their tiny support group, and running around the court with it.

Captain Karam Ahmadian, draped in the flag, knelt down to kiss the four corners of the court before being carried shoulder high by his emotional teammates after playing his last game before retiring.

Friday, DOHA