Asian Games 2023 athletics: India’s Avinash Sable wins gold medal, Jyothi Yarraji upgraded to silver
Tajinderpal Singh defended his title as India claimed nine medals from eight finals in athletics on Sunday evening.
Athletics
Led by golds from Avinash Sable and Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Indian athletes claimed nine medals from eight track and field events at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China on Sunday.
Avinash Sable won India’s first gold medal in the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Games before Tajinderpal Singh defended his shot put title on his final attempt.
Hurdler Jyothi Yarraji’s medal was upgraded to silver after a review. Murali Sreeshankar, Ajay Kumar Saroj and Harmilan Bains also won silver medals in their respective events while Jinson Johnson, Nandini Agasara and Seema Punia settled for bronze.
The nine medals won on Sunday take India’s tally in athletics at the Asian Games 2023 to 12 which include two golds, five silvers and five bronze.
Avinash Sable started India’s medal rush on Sunday by winning the 3000m steeplechase in 8:19:53 and rewriting the Asian Games record set by Iran’s Hossein Keyhani four years ago by just over three seconds.
Sable’s timing of 8:11.20 to win silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year stands as the Indian national record. However, with the absence of African runners, Sable comfortably established himself as Asia’s best despite being more than eight seconds slower than his personal best.
Japan claimed silver and bronze through Ryoma Aoki (8:23.75) and Seiya Sunada (8:26.47).
Meanwhile, Tajinderpal Singh Toor had his title defence under threat from Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed Daouda Tolo. Going into the sixth and final attempt, Mohamed Daouda Tolo led the field with his season-best throw of 20.18m.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who holds the Asian record of 21.77m, summoned his best to log a 20.36m throw on his final attempt and retain his title.
Wu Yanni and Jyothi Yarraji in the women's 100m hurdles at the Asian Games 2023.
Why Jyothi Yarraji’s Asian Games medal was upgraded
Jyothi Yarraji clocked 12.91s and was initially awarded a bronze medal in the women's 100m hurdles. However, her medal was upgraded to silver after reviews showed that China's Wu Yanni had jumped the gun at the first start.
The race was restarted and Wu Yanni came second in the contest, with Jyothi Yarraji in third. However, Wu Yanni was later disqualified for the false start at the first attempt.
Lin Yuwei from China won the gold with a personal best time of 12.74s while Japan’s Yumi Tanaka, initially fourth, won the bronze in 13.04s.
India’s long jump ace Murali Sreeshankar, who claimed second place at the Commonwealth Games last year, added to his tally of silvers with an 8.19m jump. Jeswin Aldrin, who hit India’s national record of 8.42m earlier this year, could not cross the 8m mark and ended up eighth in the 12-man field with the best jump of 7.76m.
China claimed the other two places on the podium with gold going to Jianan Wang (8.22m) and bronze to Yuhao Chi (8.10m).
Jinson Johnson and Swapna Barman could not defend their titles in men’s 1500m and women’s heptathlon, respectively. Jinson Johnson had to settle for bronze despite doing better than the Jakarta 2018 edition. India’s national record holder won bronze in 3:39.74. Four years ago, he claimed gold in 3:44.72.
Asian champion Ajay Kumar Saroj of India claimed silver in 3:38.94 and was narrowly beaten by Qatar’s Mohamad Algarni, who won the gold medal in 3:38.36.
Swapna Barman lost her title in the women’s heptathlon to China’s Ninali Zheng. The Chinese scored 6149 points across seven events and was followed by Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Voronina, who logged 6056 points.
India’s Nandini Agasara, a U20 world championships finallist, claimed her first major medal in seniors with a bronze for 5712 points. Swapna Barman missed the podium by four points.
Discus thrower Seema Punia completed a hat-trick of medals at the Asian Games with a bronze. Unlike the 2014 Asian Games and the 2018 edition, the 40-year-old Seema Punia did not cross the 60m mark and came third with a 58.62m effort. China’s Bin Feng (67.93) won gold with an Asian Games record. Zhichao Jiang’s 61.04 fetched her a silver.
Highly-rated runner Harmilan Bains, who made a comeback earlier this season after a string of injuries, also stepped onto the podium with a timing of 4:12.74. She was beaten for gold by Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi by 1.09 seconds. Bahrain’s Marta Hirpato Yota won the bronze in 4:15.97.