A new national record and six final-day medals capped India’s campaign at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships, as the squad finished with 8 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze medals in Gumi, South Korea.
The total of 24 medals put India behind only China, which won 26 medals, including 15 gold. It was also India’s second-best show in the competition after the 27-medal haul at Bhubaneswar in 2017 – 9gold, 6 silver & 12 bronze.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The national mark was set by Chhattisgarh’s 21-year-old Animesh Kujur, who goes by the nickname ‘Max’ but likes to strike Usain Bolt's trademark pose. Kujur broke his own record of 20.40s to take the 200m bronze with a timing of 20.32s — India’s first medal in the event since Dharambir Singh’s bronze in 2015.
Tejaswin Shankar on Animesh: ‘What an incredible athlete’
Animesh Kujur made a slow start and was behind the leading pack at the halfway mark. But he accelerated sharply, missing the silver in men’s 200m by just 0.01 secs. “Phew what an incredible athlete he is turning out to be,” Tejaswin Shankar, who won silver for India in decathlon, exclaimed on X, under the hashtag: #My pick for the Best Indian.
Kujur’s father is a DSP in Chhattisgarh Police and mother an inspector. “He is improving with every race. He will go a long way. Really proud of him,” Animesh’s father Amrit told TOI.
Other notable performers on the day included upcoming javelin thrower Sachin Yadav. Leading India’s charge in the absence of Neeraj Chopra, Yadav won the silver with a PB of 85.16m, barely a metre behind Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem (86.40m) who won gold.
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