India clinched seven golds, 11 silvers and 11 bronze medals to finish second at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships 2024 held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates from April 24 to 27. A total of 60 Indian athletes - 31 men and 29 women - competed at the 21st edition of the continental meet.
The People's Republic of China topped the medal tally with 16 golds, 10 silvers and three bronze. Though India matched China's total haul, they won fewer gold medals and consequently finished second in the standings.
Deepanshu Sharma won India's first gold medal in the men’s javelin throw with a distance of 70.29m. Anurag Singh Kaler (men’s shot put), Pavana Nagaraj (women’s long jump), Ekta Dey (women’s 3000m steeplechase) and Ranvir Singh (men’s 3,000m steeplechase) were successful in winning gold medals on the second day of the competition. Ekta Dey also went on to clinch the silver medal in the 5000m race.
Harshit Kumar, competing in the men's hammer throw, won the only gold for the Indians on the third day when he registered a distance of 66.7m. The 4x400m women's relay team of Anushka Dattatray Kumbhar, Kanista Teena Maria Deva Shekhar, Sai Sangeetha Dodla and Sandramol Sabu also topped the podium on the final day of the competition.
Laxita Sandilea, who won the gold medal at the Asian U20 championships last year in 1500m, settled for a silver medal in Dubai.
The Asian U20 Athletics Championships was also a qualifying event for the World U20 Athletics Championships which will be held in Lima, Peru from August 27 to 31. Aarti, competing in the women's 10,000m race walk, achieved the qualification standard for the U20 World Championships with her time of 47:45.33. The entry standard was 49:00.00.
