Olympic bronze medalist Mutaz Barshim of Qatar has withdrawn from the Asian athletics championships in India due to an injury.
On Twitter, the 22-year-old said he would be “off for a while” because of a back injury.
خارج الدوري الماسي ملتقى برمنقهام ، وخارج بطولة اسيا بسبب الاصابة ، قدر الله وما شاءفعل
— ♕♕معتز برشم ♕Barshim (@mutazbarsham)
Doha Stadium Plus also quotes a Qatar Athletics Federation official as saying:
“With the Moscow World Championships around the corner, we didn’t want to risk injury to his back and so decided to rest him for the Asian event. He was also supposed to have taken part in the Birmingham Diamond League, but pulled out.”
Barshim’s absence is sure to disappoint attendees of the five-day meet in Pune, who also lost Japanese “teenage sprint sensation” Yoshihide Kiryu due to injury, AFP reports.
Thoughts?
Credit: Photo courtesy of Qatar Olympic Committee
