Eight gold, 10 silver, and 6 bronze medals: India sign off with 24 medals at 26th Asian Athletics Championships

Time of India

3 days ago

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A new national record, a flurry of personal bests, and six medals on the final day marked a strong finish for India at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships , as the country wrapped up its campaign with a total of 24 medals on Saturday.Though a gold medal remained out of reach on the concluding day, Indian athletes showcased resilience and determination, clinching three silver and three bronze medals with commendable performances.Parul Chaudhary claimed her second silver of the meet with a strong run in the women's 5000m, clocking 15:15.33s to finish second, adding to the silver she had earlier won in the 3000m steeplechase.While javelin thrower Sachin Yadav earned his silver with a personal best effort, the women's 4x100m relay team, featuring Abinaya Rajarajan, Sneha SS, Srabani Nanda, and Nithya Gandhe, clocked a season-best 43.86s to bag India's final silver.Sprinter Animesh Kujur blazed to a national record of 20.32s to clinch a a bronze in the men's 200m for India.Middle distance runner Pooja recorded a personal best to take bronze in the women's 800m, while Asian Games medallist Vithya Ramraj secured the third place in the women's 400m hurdles.India thus wrapped up the championships with 8 gold, 10 silver, and 6 bronze medals. While the overall count fell short of the 27 medals won in the previous edition, the contingent has improved on the gold tally, increasing it from 6 to 8.India finished second in the medal tally behind China (19 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze), marking the country's best performance since the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar, where it topped the standings with 29 medals (10 gold, 6 silver, 13 bronze).Japan finished third with 5 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze.Personal bests for Sachin and YashvirIn the absence of two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, both the Indian javelin throwers produced personal best efforts.Rising star Sachin sent his spear to 85.16m in his last attempt to finish behind Pakistan's reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, who was appearing in his first competition since the Paris Games last year. The Pakistani fetched the gold with a 86.40m throw.Competing in his maiden major international meet, Sachin narrowly missed the World Championships qualification mark of 85.50m, and blamed his twin injuries -- to the ankle and shoulder -- for the shortfall."I'm not satisfied, but yes, I'll go back with a medal and a personal best," said the 25-year-old, who had a previous personal best of 84.39m.Asked whether he could breach the qualifying mark in the next 2-3 months, with the World Championships scheduled in Tokyo this September, he remained hopeful."Once I return, I'll give my all in training. I've made some mistakes that affected my preparation. For instance, I had injuries -- first in my ankle, then in my shoulder -- which prevented me from training properly," he said."I can't say exactly how much time I'll need, but I will try to give my best in the next competition and aim to qualify with a good distance," added Sachin who hails from a farmer's family at Khekra village near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh.Fellow Indian Yashvir Singh also impressed with a personal best of 82.57m for a fifth-place finish.Kujur wins India's first men's sprint medal in a decadeAsian Games medallist bronze Vithya sailed smoothly over the women's 400m hurdles to finish on the third step of the podium. The 26-year-old Tamil Nadu athlete clocked 56.46s to finish on the podium.China's Mo Jiadie clinched gold in 55.31s, edging out Bahrain's Oluwakemi Adekoya, who finished second in 55.32s. Anu Raghavan, the other Indian in the race, was placed seventh with 57.46s.Pooja grabbed India's third bronze of the day as she finished the women's 800m with a personal best of 2:01.89s.In the women's 200m final, Jyoti Yarraji finished fifth with a time of 23.47s, while Nithya Gandhe came seventh in 23.90s. Yarraji had won gold in the women's 100m hurdles earlier in the week.In the men's 800m, Krishan Kumar and Anu Kumar finished seventh and eight respectively.(with PTI inputs)