Silver lining: Sudan medallist targets London

Abu Dhabi "We are going to invade London in 2012," vowed the Sudanese Olympic delegation on Tuesday in the backdrop of the African nation’s first Olympic medal at Beijing.

Esmail Ahmad Esmail was five-hundredths of a second away from earning the 800-metre gold last Saturday as he was beaten by Kenya’s Wilfred Bungei.

"All that was on my mind while crossing the finish line was, ‘how did I miss the gold?’," Esmail told XPRESS in Abu Dhabi. "But watch out Wilfred, I will get you in the next race," he added.

The 23-year-old runner, who hails from the troubled region of Darfur and who will be celebrating his birthday in two weeks’ time, said that his aim is to maintain his level in order to reap the benefits in London.

For now, Esmail’s mind is on the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin next year for which preparations are already under way. The competition is also going to feature a larger participation from Sudan according to the delegation members.

"We are working in tandem with the women for the development of the sport. We had four male and four female athletes in Beijing and female athletes develop faster and quicker than the male athletes," said Mohammad Yousuf Abdullah, Head of the Sudanese Olympic delegation and the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. He added that the country had dedicated the past seven years to athletic development and this was the early fruits of that hard work. "We were expecting four medals this year but by 2012, Sudan will be a force to reckon with," Abdullah said.