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by Dinesh Weerawansa

Saudi Arabia has turned out to be the emerging athletic forcein Asia, showing a vast improvement in some of the key international events in recent times. Its dedication and hard work towards the present success is not only an example to countries like Sri Lanka, but also to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and even to Japan. The Saudi Arabians have shown a steady climb in the world athletic ladder. What is more interesting is that there is no known athletic culture in the Saudi Arabian kingdom but still, they have overcome all odds to become one of the most promising up and coming athletic nations.

The key to their track and field success has been the innovative ideas of their athletic officials, who have done great contributions in bringing up the promising athletes under the state patronage. KSA's Prince Nawaf Bin Mohammed Al Suad, who heads the Saudi Arabian Athletic Federation, has guided his country's track and field destinies. But the recipe to the Saudi Arabian success story was masterminded by none other than US coaching guru, John Smith.

He has assured Saudi Arabia putting a new face for Asian athletics. Smith masterminded a strategy aimed at challenging his own stable of American champions in the 2004 Olympics. The significant improvement of Saudi athletes, starting with a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics and now with six gold at the Asian Games where they had never won before, is no fluke, says Saudi athletics boss Prince Nawaf bin Mohammed.

Having understood unfavourable local conditions for the athletes to train in a country, which could not boast of a rich athletic history, local authorities have thought of alternative measures to produce world class athletes. Talented athletes from different segments are picked in tender ages and are groomed under the watchful eyes of reputed international class coaches. Once they reach the national level, they will be directed to pre-identified events. All top Saudi Arabian athletes train abroad - sprinters in the United States, long distance runners in morocco, middle distance runners in Romania and long jumpers in Bahamas.

What is significant in Saudi Arabian track and field is that their national athletes are well looked after, irrespective of their social standards. They are given all-round overseas training under the best of coaches and the Government has secured their futures.

A decade ago, Saudi Arabia was virtually an unknown athletic destination in Asia but during the last few years, they have shown a vast improvement and really marked their place prominently in the Asian athletic map. But Saudi Athletic President, Prince Nawaf Bin said their recent high achievements are not a surprise to him. "We trained them with a vision. When we started our development programs several years ago, we knew that we could reach these levels and even more. So, it's not a surprise but rewards of hard work, dedication and talent," he said evaluating his team's performance at the recent Asian Games in Busan, Korea. Saudi Arabia won just one silver and a bronze medal at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan. But eight years later, they bagged six gold medals and a silver inside six days at the Busan Asian Games last October. But Prince Nawaf Bin anticipates greater achievements by his athletes in future. "This is just a beginning of Saudi Arabian athletics, better things are yet to come," he said, keeping his country's chances alive at next year's IAAF World Championships in France and Asian Championships in the Philippines.

"We prepared for this for the past four years on a special program. The Asian Games success was the first chapter of a master plan which takes in next year's World Championships and then the Athens Olympics the year after. Prince Nawaf had a vision out of which you come up with a dream. Now, they are breaking Asian records," that's how Smith analyses the progress of the team.

And now, Saudi Arabia has several IAAF top ranked players in their national side - Hadi Samalan Al Somaliy (fourth in men's 400m hurdles), Saad Shaddah Al Asmari (seventh in men's 3,000m steeple chase), Jamal Abdullah Al Saffar (25th in men's 100m), Salem Mubarak Al Yami (40th in men's 100m) Hamdon Obah Al Bishi (15th in men's 400m) and Mubarak Afah Mubarak (47th in men's 110m hurdles). Many tagged Saudi Arabia's emergence at the Asian Games as a potent new running force with a medal-laden performance be born from a mix of money and fabled US coach Smith. Although the Saudis had never won an Asiad athletics gold before, they knew they had the right weaponry coming into South Korea.

Finances have never been a worry for the oil-rich Middle Eastern nation as they previously unheralded Makhlid al-Otaibi won a promise he could have anything he wanted to further his athletics career after pulling off a 5,000m-10,000m double at the Asiad and was offered US$ 80,000 from his country. The 22-year-old soldier is the only leading Saudi runner not listed as being coached by Smith, whose track products include Olympic champion Maurice Greene, Ato Boldon, Jon Drummond and a few more US star runners. Al-Otaibi, a wiry, dapper gymnast-turned runner, joined a select band of athletes who have won a long distance double at the Asian Games - Japanese record holder Toshinari Takaoka (1994), Indian Hari Chand (1978) and Sri Lankan S.L.B. Rosa (1970).

Hurdler Hadi al-Somaily, a silver medallist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Asian Championship gold 400m medallist Hamden al-Bishi have already made their presence felt in the world circuit. Al-Somaily clocked a new Asian Games timing of 48.42 seconds to win men's 400m hurdles gold while Al -Bishi was at his best both in Colombo and Busan.

As the KSA athletic chief remarked, the best of Saudi performances are yet to come and it wont be a surprise if they continue the good work and win gold medals at 2004 Olympics. Perhaps, their harvest at the 2005 Asian Games in their own Gulf region (Doha) could be another big shock. They are really working towards their goals hard.

Sri Lanka should take a clue from Saudi Arabia's success. Many laughed at then Sports Minister S. B. Dissanayake when he instructed to form an Olympic super pool in 1995.

But within five years, his dream came true when Susanthika Jayasinghe bagged women's 200m bronze at the Sydney, 2000. Even after almost a decade after Saudi Arabia launched its long-term development plan, many non Asians feel Saudi Arabia provided a shock at the world circuit, but for them it's not so as the Saudis knew the productive harvest they would get for their investment.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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