A Kuwaiti archer breaks a referee’s leg at the Asian Games

One of the referees suffered a broken leg as a result of a wrong throw by Kuwaiti Ali Al-Zenkawi during the hammer throw competition at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China.

Referee Huang Qinhua, 62 years old, was sitting on a chair outside the throwing circle when Al-Zankawi missed his attempt. The hammer hit the protective net, and instead of stopping, the metal ball weighing more than 7 kg hit his right leg.

The pictures showed the referee in pain while Al-Zankawi rushed to help him.

The referee was taken from the arena to receive treatment on site before being transferred to the hospital. Chinese state media said the referee was “in stable condition and is scheduled to undergo surgery” for a fracture of his right fibula.

For his part, Al-Zankawi (39 years old) confirmed that his balance was disturbed during the fourth throw, which led to the hammer hitting referee Huang Qinhua, which led to a double fracture in his right leg. He said in a call with Agence France-Presse, on the eve of his departure from China for Kuwait, “I was… I compete in competitions with great focus, and when I reached the fourth throw, which is known to be the fastest throw, my balance lost during the rotation, so I had to let go of the hammer. This is normal and happens, and I did not know in which direction it would go.”

He added, “I raised my head and discovered that the hammer had bounced from the ground to the referee’s leg, so I quickly ran to him and tried to help him, especially since he was in a state of shock and was writhing in pain.”

He continued, “After I reached him, I discovered a slit in his pants, and I saw blood pouring from the leg thickly, and I knew that there was a fracture in the leg. Then I tied the foot firmly to stop the bleeding until the ambulance arrived, so I helped them by putting him on an ambulance stretcher to take him to the hospital.”

Al-Zankawi, who won many Asian and Arab titles, pointed out that “the moments that accompany the hammer throw are very dangerous, and I do not remember exactly how close the referee’s distance was. I did not notice that the referee was close because all my focus was on the throw.”