OBIENA WINS FIRST GOLD FOR PH IN ASIAN GAMES

FILIPINO pole vault sensation EJ Obiena delivered the Philippines’ first gold medal in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China  Saturday evening.

Obiena needed just three jumps to clinch the gold medal while also setting a new mark for the Asian Games.

The 27-year-old athlete cleared 5.55 meters in his first attempt, but failed his first attempt at the 5.75-meter mark.

He quickly regrouped, and neatly crossed the 5.75-meter mark in his second attempt.

With the rest of his rivals failing to clear the 5.75-meter mark, Obiena clinched the gold.

With a clean jump of 5.75.mark, Obiena also broke the old mark of 5.70 meters, set by Japan’s Yamamoto Seito at the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta, Indonesia.

To seal his victory, Obiena cleared 5.90 meters in his first attempt, again setting a new Asian Games record.

However, he failed three times to cross the 6.02 mark, a new personal best, as well as a new Asian record.

“We pushed through,” Obiena told reporters after his victory.

“I think we were able to do what we needed to do, to bring back the gold for the country which is the most important thing. No complaints about that,” Obiena added.

China’s Huang Bokai and Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Al Hizam both cleared 5.65 meters, but Huang took the silver on countback. 5.65 meters was a season-best mark for Al Hizamn.