New Delhi: India celebrated a breakthrough moment at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships on Friday as Nitin Gupta clinched the country’s first gold medal of the tournament by winning the men’s 5000m race walk event.
The 18 year old delivered an impressive performance, finishing first with a timing of 19:47.49 to secure the top spot on the podium. Sheng-qin Lo of Chinese Taipei claimed silver in 19:56.17, while Japan’s Chihiro Obata took bronze with a timing of 20:06.73.
Nitin’s victory marked a significant comeback after recent disappointment at the National Senior Athletics Federation competition, where he had initially produced a standout performance in the men’s 10km race walk by defeating double Olympian Sandeep Kumar. However, he was later disqualified following a protest over a rule violation related to receiving assistance during the race.
His gold medal performance at the continental championship now represents a major redemption story for the young Indian athlete. Celebrating the achievement, the Athletics Federation of India described his effort as a historic moment for Indian athletics.
India also added another medal through Sadhna Ravi, who secured silver in the women’s triple jump event with a best attempt of 12.84m. China’s Yiqing Xie won gold with a jump of 13.36m, while Kazakhstan’s Mariya Chshipacheva claimed bronze after registering a personal best effort of 12.70m.
India had earlier opened its medal tally through sprinter Nipam, who won bronze in the women’s 100m event with a timing of 11.62 seconds.
The country also remains in contention for another podium finish in the decathlon, where Rahul Jakhar produced strong performances across multiple events on the opening day of the competition.
At the previous edition held in Dubai in 2024, India finished third overall with 29 medals, including seven gold medals.
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