Gumi (South Korea), May 31: India added three gold medals to its tally at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships on Friday, led by stellar performances from long-distance runner Gulveer Singh, high jumper Pooja Singh, and heptathlete Nandini Agasara.
Gulveer, who had already won the 10,000m race, clinched the men’s 5000m title with a record-breaking time of 13:24.77, narrowly edging out competitors from Thailand and Japan. His victory makes him only the second Indian to win gold in both events in a single edition of the championships.
In the field events, 18-year-old Pooja Singh soared to a personal best of 1.89m in the high jump, securing gold ahead of Uzbekistan’s Safina Sadullaeva. Meanwhile, Nandini Agasara scored 5941 points in the heptathlon to top the podium, making a strong comeback in the 800m race after a poor javelin round.
With these wins, India’s overall medal count rose to 18 (8 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze)—already surpassing last year’s gold total and closing in on the 27 medals won in 2023.
However, the day wasn’t without setbacks. Defending champion Parul Chaudhary had to settle for silver in the women’s 3000m steeplechase. India’s 4x100m men’s relay team was also disqualified due to a baton exchange violation.
In other events, Sachin Yadav and Yashvir Singh advanced to the javelin final, and sprinters Jyothi Yarraji, Nithya Gandhe, and Animesh Kujur qualified for their respective 200m finals, keeping hopes high for the final day.
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