Doha, Qatar: Abderrahman Samba is back in action, boosting Qatar’s medal hopes at this year’s Paris Olympics. The star 400m hurdler competed at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm yesterday marking his return from injury. The 28-year-old looked cautious in his approach as he clocked 49.
69 secs in his season’s first 400m hurdles race, finishing way behind the leaders. But his return is a good omen for Team Qatar which aims to better their record of two gold medals and a bronze in the COVID-delayed Tokyo Games three years ago. The athlete has been battling with injuries in recent years since shining in the 2018 season when he set the Asian record of 46.
98 in Paris, before he claimed a bronze medal at the World Championships Doha 2019. After missing the 2020 season, Samba managed a fifth place at Tokyo Games in his rare appearance in the 2021 season. He suffered a hamstring injury just before his race in the 2022 Doha Diamond League missing the rest of the season but he made a strong return in October 2023, clinching his second consecutive Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, China.
The Qatar hurdler had earlier announced to take part at the Doha Diamond League in May but injury delayed his return in the home event after he opened the 2024 season with a flat 400m in South Africa in March, clocking 45.55. Samba’s time yesterday though wasn’t convincing, he has the potential of earning a podium finish in major events if stays fit.
He finished just ahead of his teammate Bassem .
