Kuwaiti Shammari Fawzi, 23, crossed the finish line in 44.93 seconds to take the men's 400m gold medalat the Busan Asian Games on Wednesday afternoon.

This was the first gold medal for the Kuwaiti Asiad delegation.

Edging Hamdan Bishi from Saudi Arabia in the last meter, Fawzi,whose season best stood at 46.65 seconds, made a brillant comebackand led Bishi only half a head to claim the title.

Bishi had to settle for the second place in 44.95 seconds, while Pradeep Handunpurage from Sri Lanka finished third in 45.67 seconds.

Abbas Albasri, the Kuwaiti athletic team manager, told Xinhua that it was not unexpected for Fawzi to take the gold because he has the strength.

"Fawzi had his training in Kuwait only. He has never gone to Europe or the United States to practice. Sometimes, he went to other countries but only for competitions," Albasri said.

"Fawzi will also compete in the men's 200 meters, and I expect him to achieve more," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2002)