Asian Games: India piles up athletics medals but gold remains elusive

India continued its athletics medal haul at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, but the elusive gold remained out of reach. The contingent added six medals, three silver and three bronze, to take its athletic tally to 19.

Murali Sreeshankar won silver in men’s long jump, Gulveer Singh finished second in 1500m while Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav secured silver and bronze in javelin. Vithya Ramraj and Parul Chaudhary added bronze medals in the women’s 400m hurdles and 5000m.

ASIAN GAMES LIVE: UPDATE 28 SEPTEMBER | TABLE OF MEDALS

The six medals 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, but both finished out of the gold medal position.

HOW INDIA’S MEDAL WINNERS WERE

Vithya Ramraj breaks PT Usha’s national record in women’s 400m hurdles. Courtesy: Reuters

Sreeshankar produced one of the most memorable performances of the day when he cleared 8.07m in the men’s long jump to win the silver. China’s Shi Yuhao won gold with 8.17m, while Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anvarov was third with 8.06m. The margins were extremely close, with Sreeshankar finishing just a centimeter ahead of Anvarov.

Sreeshankar’s challenge was cut short by injury. On the fourth attempt, he slipped on the board in the rain and sprained his ankle. His father confirmed it was a sprain, forcing the Indian to withdraw from the remaining attempts. However, his opening 8.07m was enough to keep him on the podium.

Gulveer continued his impressive campaign by winning silver in the men’s 1500m in 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.

Men’s javelin also gave India a double podium. Yashvir Singh set a personal best of 85.72m for the silver, while Rohit Yadav won the bronze with 84.35m. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage won the gold.

Vithya Ramraj added bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles with a personal best of 54.75 seconds, breaking the national record she shared with PT Usha. Anu Raghavan finished fifth in 55.88 seconds and also registered a personal best.

Parul Chaudhary capped 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 Sunday’s bronze in the 3,000 meters. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won gold in 15:10.18, Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka took silver in 15:11.65.

SABEL, SREESHANKAR MISSING GOLD

Avinash Sable failed to win a medal in the 3000m steeplechase. Courtesy: Reuters

Sreeshankar’s silver came in difficult circumstances, with an ankle injury preventing him from making the final attempts to match Shi’s 8.17m, but the result was his second straight silver at the Asian Games after a podium finish at Hangzhou 2023.

But the result was rather disappointing for Sable. The defending champion finished fourth in 8:21.67 in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, missing out on the podium despite his best performance of the season. 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 finished fourth in an event he had previously dominated at the Asian Games. He won gold and set a Games record at Hangzhou 2023, but failed to repeat that result in Nagoya. His season best of 8:21.67 was ultimately not enough in the hotly contested final.

INDIA QUALIFY FOR STATES FINALS, POOJA KEEPS HOPE ALIVE 800 MILES

India also progressed in the track qualifiers, booking places in two relay finals and another individual final.

The men’s 4x400m relay team advanced to the finals after a time of 3:01.49 in the heats and finished at the top of the overall qualifying standings.

The mixed 4×100 m relay reached the final, finishing second in its heat in 41.54 seconds. India survived a major scare when Animesh Kujur slipped in the last exchange of the bat with Harita Bhadra. Despite the fall, the team recovered to finish second behind China, who clocked 41.52 seconds.

Pooja also advanced to the women’s 800m final in 2:03.20, keeping alive another Indian medal opportunity.

OTHERS DISAPPOINTED AS GOLD LEAVES

Seema Punia finished fourth in the women’s discus final. Courtesy: Reuters

Apart from the medal performances, India had several near misses.

Sable’s fourth place was the biggest setback, while Anu Raghavan finished fifth despite a personal best. Seema also narrowly missed out on the women’s discus podium by 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 4x100m relay quartet of Abinaya Rajarajan, Tamanna, Sneha Sathyanarayana and Sudeshna Shivankar finished fourth in the final.

So the athletics campaign brought a substantial medal, but no top prize. With the men’s and mixed relays, India will have further opportunities to end their wait for athletics gold. For now, however, Aichi-Nagoya brought a steady stream of silver and bronze medals, but no gold.

ATHLETIC MEDALISTS ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28

Rohit Yadav – Men’s Javelin Final – Silver
Yash Vir Singh – Men’s Javelin 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

Avinash Sable — Men’s 3000m Steeplechase
Seema — Discus throw for women

Anu Raghavan — Women’s 400m Hurdles

Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan — Men’s 400m Hurdles

Sanya Yadav — Women’s Discus Throw

QUALIFICATIONS

India – Men’s 4x400m Relay, Final – Qualification
India — 4x100m medley relay final — qualification
Pooja – Women’s 800m Final – Qualification

– The end