Asian Games 2018: Bahrain complain after Hiroto Inoue wins marathon for Japan

Hiroto Inoue was marginally ahead in the final 100 metres when the Moroccan-born Elabbassi tried to overtake the Japanese on the inside of the stadium track but the duo made contact.

Bahrain's Elhassan Elabbassi, right, stumbles as he sprints to the finish line with Japan's Hiroto Inoue in the men's marathon at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia

Bahrain’s Elhassan Elabbassi (R) lost balance after coming into contact with Hiroto Inoue (L) in the final 100m of the men’s marathon at the Asian Games. (Source: AP)

Hiroto Inoue won the Asian Games men’s marathon in a controversial sprint finish on Saturday, with Bahrain later lodging a complaint to race officials, accusing the Japanese runner of barging second-place finisher Elhassan Elabbassi.

Inoue was marginally ahead in the final 100 metres when the Moroccan-born Elabbassi tried to overtake the Japanese on the inside of the stadium track but the duo made contact with the Bahraini stumbling slightly and losing ground to his rival.

“We have lodged a complaint with the race officials,” Bahrain’s chef de mission Mohammed Bader told Reuters. “Our athlete would have easily won the race. The Japanese athlete kept blocking him. Everyone saw that.”

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The duo were credited with an identical time of two hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds.

“It was a tough race. I knew I’d win in the home stretch so I went all out,” Inoue said after claiming the first gold of the athletics programme in Jakarta.

The 25-year-old became the first Japanese to win the event since 1986 when Takeyuki Nakayama triumphed in a Games record time of 2:08:21.

Elabbassi’s silver is Bahrain’s first medal of the Games.

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Dou Bujie, who finished 26 seconds adrift to claim bronze on a hot morning in the Indonesia capital, became the first Chinese athlete to win a medal in the men’s marathon event.