Asian Marathon Championships 2024: Man Singh clocks personal best to win title
Man Singh, who won the gold medal with a timing of 2:14:19, is only the second Indian to be crowned the Asian marathon champion.
Athletics
India’s Man Singh claimed the gold medal at the Asian Marathon Championships 2024 with a personal best timing of two hours, 14 minutes and 19 seconds (2:14:19) in Hong Kong, China on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Indian marathon runner comfortably beat runner-up Huang Yongzheng of the People’s Republic of China with a time difference of 65 seconds in the men’s event. Kyrgyzstan’s Tiapkin Ilya came third in 2:18:18.
Man Singh is only the second Indian to be crowned the Asian marathon champion after T Gopi took top honours in 2017 in Dongguan, China after clocking 2:15:48.
Man Singh’s previous personal best was 2:16:58, clocked at Mumbai Marathon 2023. India’s national record in men’s marathon belongs to Shivnath Singh, who clocked 2:12:00 in Jalandhar back in 1978. For the Paris 2024 Olympics, the entry standard in the men’s marathon is 2:08:10.
Man Singh was part of the Indian contingent at the Asian Games 2023 and finished eighth with a timing of 2:16:59 in the marathon event. India’s Belliappa Appachangada Bo, who came 12th at the Asian Games in 2:20:52, came sixth in the men’s event with a timing of 2:20:20 in Hong Kong.
Four Indian runners competed at the Asian Marathon Championships 2024. In the women’s event, India’s Ashvini Jadhav finished eighth in 2:56:42 and Jyoti Gawate finished 11th in 3:06:20. The entry standard for the women’s marathon for the Paris 2024 Olympics is 2:26:50.