New Delhi: India’s Jyothi Yarraji and Avinash Sable delivered outstanding performances to win gold medals in their respective events at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships held in Gumi, South Korea, on Thursday.
Avinash Sable made history by becoming the first Indian man in 36 years to win gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Championships. Clocking a season-best 8:20.92, Sable secured the top spot, adding to his silver medal from the 2019 edition. Although this timing was well shy of his national record of 8:09.91 set in 2024, it was enough to bring home the coveted gold. The last Indian to win this event was Dina Ram in 1989, while the inaugural gold for India in men’s steeplechase came from Harbel Singh in 1975.
Shortly after Sable’s win, Jyothi Yarraji showcased her speed and determination in the women’s 100m hurdles, clinching her second consecutive gold at the Asian Championships with a new championship record of 12.96 seconds. This broke the previous record of 13.04 seconds held jointly by Kazakhstan’s Olga Shishigina (1998) and China’s Sun Yawei (2011). Yarraji’s personal best and the national record stands at an impressive 12.78 seconds.
The Asian Games silver medalist joined an elite group of five athletes to successfully defend the 100m hurdles gold at the Asian Championships, a list that includes Emi Akimoto, Zhang Yu, Su Yinping, and Sun Yawei.
In the men’s steeplechase final, Sable, the gold medal favorite, demonstrated his class with a tactical and powerful finish. Despite Japan’s Yutaro Niinae leading at the start of the last lap, Sable surged ahead to secure the victory. Niinae settled for silver with a time of 8:24.41, while Qatar’s Zakaria Elahlaami took bronze clocking 8:27.12.
On the relay front, India’s men’s 4x400m team—Rince Joseph, Dharmveer Choudhary, Manu Thekkinalil Saji, and Mohit Kumar—stormed into the final by topping their heat with their best-ever time of 3:06.28. They outpaced strong teams like China and South Korea, securing direct qualification to the final, where they will compete from lane five against top contenders including Sri Lanka, China, and Kazakhstan.
In the women’s 10,000m final, India’s Sanjeevani Jadhav clocked a season-best 33:08.17 to finish fifth, closely followed by Seema in sixth with a time of 33:08.23. The race was dominated by Kazakhstan’s Daisy Jepkemei, who took gold in 30:48.44, ahead of Japan’s Ririrak Hironika and Mikuni Yada.
India’s stellar performances on day one have set a positive tone for the rest of the championships, highlighting the country’s growing prowess on the continental athletics stage.
