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Undercover ace wins 200m gold
Ruqaya sure has struck the right balance between tradition and sport and that was all too evident at Doha, writes Ajai Masand.
IT IS indeed a novelty to see an athlete covered from head to toe running in a major competition like the Asian Games. Bahrain sprinter Al Ghasara Ruqaya is only 19 but a big name back home, and she chose the biggest continental stage to show the world that Bahrain, a conservative country steeped in tradition, can produce world-class women athletes.
Coached by Algeria's Nouredine Tajjine, the gawky athlete who had her head covered with a white scarf and wore a red tracksuit, beat the best in Asia — including the Busan Asian Games 100m gold-medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe — clocking 23.19 in the 200m and relegating the Sri Lankan to third spot.
While her coach did all the talking, she was quickly whisked away to the dope control centre. "She is an upcoming athlete, but a big name back home and trains in South Africa," said Tajjine, who has been her coach for the last two years. "She prefers to race like this (tracksuit and head scarf) even though the female athletes back home have the liberty to wear the normal track gear," said the Algerian.
A journalist who has been following her progress for some time now said she is more comfortable in this gear, and is dressed like this during training too.
Well, Ruqaya sure has struck the right balance between tradition and sport and that was all too evident at the Khalifa Stadium on Monday. Whirling legs, arms flying, she breasted the tape first — way ahead of the rest, her tracksuit fluttering like a red flag. Sri Lankan track star Jayasinghe, watching Ruqaya from the back, later reminisced over her own days of youthful athleticism.
"I am 31 now, someone has to take my place," Jayasinghe, who missed out on the 200m last time due to a hamstring injury, said.
"I was down with chikungunya and spent quite a few days in hospital, and so could not do speed training," the Lankan star from Warakapola, 40km from Colombo, said.
"Most probably I will call it quits after the 2008 Beijing Olympics and decide on settling down and having a family." A star on the wane and another on the rise! Well, that's the reality of life - athletics is no different.
