Asian Athletics Championships: Yadav, Parul shine with silver; Kujur, two others win bronze

Parul Chaudhary clinched her second silver and javelin thrower Sachin Yadav also finished second while sprinter Animesh Kujur shattered the national record en route a bronze show as India’s medal rush continued on the final day of the 26^th Asian Athletics Championships here on Saturday.

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Vithya Ramraj and Pooja also won bronze medals in their respective events.

Chaudhary, who had earlier bagged silver in the 3000m steeplechase, clocked 15:15.33s to finish second in the women’s 5000m.

In the men’s javelin throw event, rising star Yadav produced a personal best performance as he sent his spear to 85.16m to finish behind reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, who fetched the gold with a best effort of 86.40.

Hailing from a farmer’s family at Khekra village near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, the 25-year old had a previous personal best of 84.39m.

Fellow Indian Yashvir Singh also impressed with a personal best of 82.57m for a fifth-place finish.

India’s first medal of the day came through Kujur, who claimed a rare medal in the men’s 200m. He produced a standout performance, setting a new national record of 20.32 seconds.

The 21-year-old bettered his previous mark of 20.40s, set earlier this year at the National Federation Senior Athletics Competition.

Japan’s Towa Uzawa won gold with a time of 20.12s, while Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Abdu I Atafi took silver in 20.31s.

Asian Games medallist Vithya sailed smoothly over the 400m hurdles to finish on the third step of the podium. The 26-year-old Tamil Nadu athlete clocked 56.46s to finish on the podium.

China’s Mo Jiadie clinched gold in 55.31s, edging out Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Adekoya, who finished second in 55.32s. Anu Raghavan, the other Indian in the race, was placed seventh with 57.46s.

Pooja grabbed India’s third bronze of the day as she finished the women’s 800m with a personal best of 2:01.89s.

In the women’s 200m final, Jyoti Yarraji finished fifth with a time of 23.47s, while Nithya Gandhe came seventh in 23.90s. Yarraji had won gold in the women’s 100m hurdles earlier in the week.