Asian Athletics: India sign off with 24 medals; Sachin, Parul, women's relay team win silver
Gumi (South Korea), May 31 (PTI): A new national record, a string of personal bests, and six final-day medals capped India's campaign at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships with the country signing off with a total haul of 24 medals here on Saturday.
While gold proved elusive on the final day, Indian athletes delivered a series of gritty performances to secure three silver and as many bronze medals.
Parul Chaudhary claimed her second silver of the meet with a strong run in the women's 5000m, clocking 15:15.33s to finish second, adding to the silver she had earlier won in the 3000m steeplechase.
While javelin thrower Sachin Yadav earned his silver with a personal best effort, the women's 4x100m relay team, featuring Abinaya Rajarajan, Sneha SS, Srabani Nanda, and Nithya Gandhe, clocked a season-best 43.86s to bag India's final silver.
Sprinter Animesh Kujur blazed to a national record of 20.32s to clinch a a bronze in the men's 200m for India.
Middle distance runner Pooja recorded a personal best to take bronze in the women's 800m, while Asian Games medallist Vithya Ramraj secured the third place in the women's 400m hurdles.
India thus wrapped up the championships with 8 gold, 10 silver, and 6 bronze medals.
While the overall count fell short of the 27 medals won in the previous edition, the contingent has improved on the gold tally, increasing it from 6 to 8.
India finished second in the medal tally behind China (19 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze), marking the country’s best performance since the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar, where it topped the standings with 29 medals (10 gold, 6 silver, 13 bronze).
Japan finished third with 5 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze.
Personal bests for Sachin and Yashvir
In the absence of two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, both the Indian javelin throwers produced personal best efforts.
Rising star Sachin sent his spear to 85.16m in his last attempt to finish behind Pakistan's reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, who was appearing in his first competition since the Paris Games last year. The Pakistani fetched the gold with a 86.40m throw.
Competing in his maiden major international meet, Sachin narrowly missed the World Championships qualification mark of 85.50m, and blamed his twin injuries -- to the ankle and shoulder -- for the shortfall.
“I’m not satisfied, but yes, I’ll go back with a medal and a personal best,” said the 25-year-old, who had a previous personal best of 84.39m.
Asked whether he could breach the qualifying mark in the next 2-3 months, with the World Championships scheduled in Tokyo this September, he remained hopeful.
“Once I return, I’ll give my all in training. I’ve made some mistakes that affected my preparation. For instance, I had injuries -- first in my ankle, then in my shoulder -- which prevented me from training properly,” he said.
“I can’t say exactly how much time I’ll need, but I will try to give my best in the next competition and aim to qualify with a good distance,” added Sachin who hails from a farmer's family at Khekra village near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh.
Fellow Indian Yashvir Singh also impressed with a personal best of 82.57m for a fifth-place finish.
Kujur wins India's first men's sprint medal in a decade
India's first medal of the day came through Kujur, who ended a decade-long wait for the country in the men’s 200m with a bronze.
It was India's first in the event since Dharambir Singh's bronze in the 2015 edition.
The 21-year-old from Odisha delivered a standout performance, clocking a national record of 20.32 seconds, bettering his own mark of 20.40s set earlier this year at the National Federation Senior Athletics Competition.
Highly impressed with Animesh Kujur’s rapid progress, Adille J Sumariwalla, former president of the Athletics Federation of India and a former sprinter himself, hailed the youngster as one of the best in the country.
"He’s an absolutely outstanding athlete. He’s doing very, very well. And if he can just improve his start a little more, he’ll be almost impossible to beat,” Sumariwalla said.
"He’s one of those very, very talented sprinters among the best I’ve seen in India."
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.
Bronze for Vithya, Pooja
Asian Games medallist bronze Vithya sailed smoothly over the women's 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.
In the men's 800m, Krishan Kumar and Anu Kumar finished seventh and eight respectively.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
