Latest news with #ThirubenThanaRajan
Independent Singapore
3 days ago
- General
- Independent Singapore
Singapore's Thiruben Thana Rajan successfully breaks 800m record at the Asian Athletics Championships after 38 years
SOUTH KOREA: The long-standing national record for the men's 800-m event at the Asian Athletics Championships was broken after 38 years by Singaporean athlete Thiruben Thana Rajan with a final time of 1:49.94. In Gumi, South Korea, the athlete's historic performance defeated the record set by Sinnathambi Pandian at the 7th Asian Track and Field Championships in 1987. With his achievement, the 24-year-old athlete expressed: 'Everything fell into place for me today and I achieved exactly what I set out to do, which was to break the national record and be the first Singaporean under 1:50.' He added: 'I'm proud of the fearless race I ran, pushing aggressively from the start.' In a social media post by Rajan using Singapore Athletics' account, the athlete proudly shared his historical win with a caption: 'NATIONAL RECORD 🇸🇬 … As many in the athletics community know, I've been managing the Singapore Athletics social media pages since 2023 as part of my full-time role overseeing marketing and sponsorships for the association…. After writing countless national record posts for my Team Singapore teammates over the past two years, it's a surreal feeling to finally be writing one… for myself.' He added: 'Today (30 May 2025), at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, I clocked 1:49.94 in the 800 Heats. This timing broke the long-standing Men's 800m National Record of 1:50.56 set by S. Pandian in 1987. I also became the first Singaporean ever to dip below 1:50 in the two-lap event. S. Surendra had also previously run a hand-timed 1:49.9 in 1983… My previous best was 1:51.28, set just a month ago at the Singapore Open.' 'I am very appreciative and grateful to my coaches Khairyll Amri and Hamkah Afik and to my training group at @ for being in my corner every step of the way… Let's keep going.' Netizens expressed their support to the young athlete in the comments section by saying: 'Well done, Thiruben ! You have gone through some valleys and came out stronger! We are immensely proud of you!', 'Solid guy. Hard work paying off bro', and 'Congratulations 👏👏👏👏' See also 2026 Tour de France to begin with a team time trial in Barcelona Rajan's transition from 400 m to 800 m Rajan admitted that he began training with his current coaches, Khairyll Amri and Hamkah Afik, a year ago, when he also had decided to transition from 400 m to 800 m. He is confident that he can beat the world record and declared: 'I've always had the belief that I am capable of taking down this record. This is certainly not the end goal for me, as this first year in the event was all about recovering from past injuries and getting used to the two laps again.' He also stated that he is excited to train and improve his skills for the SEA Games in December.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore's Thiruben Thana Rajan breaks 38-year-old national record at Asian Athletics C'ships
SINGAPORE – Not long after breaking a 38-year-old national record in the men's 800m on May 30, Singapore's Thiruben Thana Rajan has cast his sights on an even older mark. The middle distance runner clocked 1min 49.94sec during the heats of the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea to eclipse Sinnathambi Pandian's record of 1:50.56, which was set in 1987. Now, the 24-year-old is eyeing a podium spot at the SEA Games. The only male Singaporean 800m runner to have achieved this was Serjit Singh, who won a bronze in the 1973 edition in Singapore. Thiruben, who finished 17th out of 28 in the heats at the Gumi Civic Stadium and did not qualify for the final, said he had been aiming to break the long-standing national record for a year. He added: 'I sat down with my coaches and we had a plan, basically whatever we planned just happened today, so it's quite surreal for me but it's an event that I have a lot more potential in, so it's definitely just the start. 'Seeing the field, I know that I still have some work to do to be at that calibre to get into the final, but it is not impossible… Maybe in the next Asian champs in two years' time.' India's Krishan Kumar clocked 1:48.66 to clinch the last spot for the eight-man final, while Ko Ochiai of Japan topped the heats in 1:46.24. For now, Thiruben has some intermediate goals. '(My next target is) getting the national record down even more, putting it down to 1:48 or 1:47, and then, of course, going for the SEA Games, and being at least on the podium and hopefully for gold,' he said. Singapore Athletics (SA) president Lien Choong Luen said of Thiruben's feat: 'Another long-standing record broken, and the first Singaporean to dip below 1:50 ever. ' One of my personal favourite events, it was great to watch. Thiru has been knocking on the door all season and for it to come together at this major competition is simply the icing on the cake.' Thiruben, whose role as a marketing and sponsorships executive at SA includes creating social media content to celebrate the athletes' achievements and milestones, will now have to write his own post, something that he has been 'thinking about for a while'. Meanwhile, in the women's 200m, sprint queen Shanti Pereira is on track to defend her title in the final on May 31, having clocked 23.59sec to finish second overall in the heats, behind Japan's Remi Tsuruta (23.37sec) and ahead of China's Chen Yujie (23.60sec). Pereira, who won a 100m and 200m double in the 2023 edition in Thailand, had settled for silver in the 100m on May 28 after clocking 11.41sec, losing out to China's Liang Xiaojing by just 0.04sec. In the men's 400m hurdles, Calvin Quek registered 50.58sec to finish seventh out of 17 and qualified for the final on May 31. Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
