In the five-day (July 12 to 16) Asian Athletics Championships 2023 held in Bangkok, India finished third with a total of 27 medals, including six gold, 12 silver and nine bronze medals, in the second best ever performance.
Mixed relay team wins gold
Rajesh Ramesh, Aishwarya Mishra, Amoj Jacob and Subha Venkatesan helped India win the 4x400m mixed relay, beating back the challenge from Sri Lanka and Japan who settled for the silver and bronze medals respectively. India added five medals on the penultimate day on Saturday.
Toor bags gold
India's ace shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and middle distance runner Parul Chaudhary won gold on the third day which saw Japan’s Hiroki Yanagita (10. 02s) and Singapore’s Pereira Veronica Shanti (11. 20) emerge as the fastest athletes winning the 100m dash in the men’s and women’s sections respectively.
Jyothi opens India's gold account
Hurdler Jyothi Yarraji opened India’s gold medal account before Ajay Kumar Saroj (men’s 1500m) and Abdulla Aboobacker (men’s triple jump) made it a triple delight as they halted Japan’s charge, who still added three more gold, on the second day. While the morning session at the National stadium saw the likes of decathlete Tejaswin Shankar (bronze, 7527 points) battling the stifling heat, showers in the evening made it difficult for the athletes to grip the track. But before it poured, Aishwarya K Mishra won India’s second bronze in women’s 400m.
Gritty Abhishek Pal wins bronze
India's Abhishek Pal zipped ahead of Japan's Yuto Imae in the last 200m to grab the bronze medal in men's 10,000m in the 25th Asian Athletics Championships. As Japan collected four of the six gold medals decided on the opening day, it looked like a washout for India. Annu Rani had finished fourth in women’s javelin throw and Lili Das ended seventh in women’s 1500m before Abhishek and Gulveer Singh lined up for the 25-lap race.
India win 8 silver, 5 bronze medals on the final day
India failed to win a single gold on the final day and instead settled for eight silver and five bronze medals to end third in the medals tally with a haul of 27 medals, including six gold. Among the fine performers on Sunday were young DP Manu (silver, men’s javelin throw), Jyothi Yarraji (silver, women’s 200m) and Parul Chaudhary (silver, women’s 5000m). Young Manu was content with his silver in his debut meet as a senior international.
