India continued to pile up athletics medals at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday, but the elusive gold remained out of reach. The contingent added six medals, three silver and three bronze, to take its athletics tally to 19.
Murali Sreeshankar won silver in the men’s long jump, Gulveer Singh finished second in the men’s 1500m, while Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav secured silver and bronze respectively in the javelin throw. Vithya Ramraj and Parul Chaudhary added bronze medals in the women’s 400m hurdles and 5000m respectively.
ASIAN GAMES LIVE: SEPT 28 UPDATES | MEDAL TABLE
The six-medal haul strengthened India’s position in athletics, but the wait for a gold medal continued. Sreeshankar and Avinash Sable were among the athletes expected to challenge for the top prize, only for both to finish outside the gold-medal position.
HOW INDIA’S MEDAL WINNERS PERFORMED
Sreeshankar produced one of the day’s most memorable performances, clearing 8.07m in the men’s long jump to win silver. China’s Shi Yuhao took gold with 8.17m, while Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anvarov was third with 8.06m. The margins were extremely tight, with Sreeshankar finishing just one centimetre ahead of Anvarov.
Sreeshankar’s challenge was cut short by an injury. He slipped on the board during his fourth attempt in the rain and twisted his ankle. His father confirmed that it was a sprain, forcing the Indian to withdraw from his remaining attempts. His opening 8.07m, however, was enough to keep him on the podium.
Gulveer continued his impressive campaign by winning silver in the men’s 1500m with a personal best of 3:36.72. Japan’s Kazuto Iizawa won gold in 3:36.35, a new Games record, while compatriot Nagiya Mori took bronze in 3:37.92. Gulveer’s silver was his second medal of the Games after his 10,000m podium finish.
The men’s javelin also delivered a double podium for India. Yashvir Singh produced a personal best of 85.72m for silver, while Rohit Yadav took bronze with 84.35m. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage won gold.
Vithya Ramraj added bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles with a personal best of 54.75 seconds, breaking the national record she had jointly held with PT Usha. Anu Raghavan finished fifth in 55.88 seconds, also recording a personal best.
Parul Chaudhary completed another productive 24 hours by winning bronze in the women’s 5000m in 15:14.61. It was her second medal of the Games after her bronze in the 3000m steeplechase on Sunday. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won gold in 15:10.18, with Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka taking silver in 15:11.65.
SABLE, SREESHANKAR MISS OUT ON GOLD
Sreeshankar’s silver came under difficult circumstances, with the ankle injury preventing him from making his final attempts and responding to Shi’s 8.17m mark. The result was nevertheless his second consecutive Asian Games silver, following his podium finish at Hangzhou 2023.
For Sable, however, the result was more disappointing. The defending champion finished fourth in 8:21.67 in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, missing the podium despite producing a season-best performance. Japan’s Ryuji Miura won gold in a Games-record 8:17.36, with Ryoma Aoki taking silver and Qatar’s Zakaria Elahlaami bronze.
Sable’s fourth-place finish came in an event in which he had previously dominated at the Asian Games. He had won gold and set the Games record at Hangzhou 2023, but could not reproduce that result in Nagoya. His season-best 8:21.67 was ultimately not enough in a closely contested final.
INDIA QUALIFY FOR RELAY FINALS, POOJA KEEPS 800M HOPES ALIVE
India also made progress in the track qualifying events, booking places in two relay finals and another individual final.
The men’s 4x400m relay team advanced to the final after clocking 3:01.49 in the heats, finishing at the top of the overall qualification standings.
The mixed 4x100m relay team also made the final after finishing second in its heat in 41.54 seconds. India survived a major scare when Animesh Kujur slipped while attempting the final baton exchange with Harita Bhadra. Despite the fall, the team recovered to finish second behind China, which clocked 41.52 seconds.
Pooja also progressed to the women’s 800m final after clocking 2:03.20, keeping another Indian medal opportunity alive.
OTHERS DISAPPOINTED AS GOLD STAYS AWAY
Alongside the medal-winning performances, India had several near misses.
Sable’s fourth-place finish was the biggest setback, while Anu Raghavan ended fifth despite a personal best. Seema also narrowly missed the women’s discus podium, finishing fourth with a personal best of 59.88m, while Sanya Yadav finished eighth.
Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan finished seventh in the men’s 400m hurdles, while India’s women’s 4x100m relay quartet of Abinaya Rajarajan, Tamanna, Sneha Sathyanarayana and Sudeshna Shivankar finished fourth in the final.
The athletics campaign has therefore delivered a sizeable medal haul, but without the top prize. With the men’s and mixed relays still to come, India will have further opportunities to end the wait for an athletics gold. For now, however, Aichi-Nagoya has brought a steady stream of silver and bronze medals, but no gold.
ATHLETICS MEDALISTS ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
- Rohit Yadav — Men’s Javelin Throw Final — Silver
- Yash Vir Singh — Men’s Javelin Throw Final — Bronze
- Murali Sreeshankar — Men’s Long Jump Final — Silver
- Gulveer Singh — Men’s 1500m Final — Silver
- Vithya Ramaraj — Women’s 400m Hurdles Final — Bronze
- Parul Chaudhary — Women’s 5000m Final — Bronze
OTHER FINALS
4th
- Avinash Sable — Men’s 3000m Steeplechase
- Seema — Women’s Discus Throw
5th
- Anu Raghavan — Women’s 400m Hurdles
7th
- Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan — Men’s 400m Hurdles
8th
- Sanya Yadav — Women’s Discus Throw
QUALIFICATIONS
- India — Men’s 4x400m Relay Final — Qualified
- India — 4x100m Mixed Relay Final — Qualified
- Pooja — Women’s 800m Final — Qualified
– Ends
