The 23rd edition of the Asian Athletics Championships held in the premises of the Khalifa International Stadium here, has drawn to a close with the arena lying witness to some classic performances.
In the previous edition of the Championships held in Bhubaneswar, India had topped the medal tally with 17 medals and likewise, in this edition, India kept the medal count intact at 17 but finished 4th on the table.
One of the star attractions of the fourth and final day was Dutee Chand. Participating in the 200 meter finals, Dutee, the 23-year-old from Jajpur, ran to clock her season’s best time at 23.24 seconds and grabbed a bronze medal, in the process. She finished in the third slot behind Bahrain’s Salwa Naser and Kazakhstan’s Olga Safronova.
The big win of the day came from the women’s 1500 meter race where P.U. Chitra and Lili Das hustled to win a medal for India. The defending champion of the 1500 meter category, Chitra emerged in top form as she smartly side stepped the efforts of the Bahrainis who tried to block her path and waylay her. Chitra remained in cruise control and did not flinch while storming past former two-time gold medalist Yavi Winfred and U-18 World Champion, Gashaw Tigest.
The 23-year-old from Kerala remained clear in her focus and overtook the Bahraini duo to make a final dash for the gold. In a matter of 4:14:56 seconds, Chitra clinched gold and booked herself a direct ticket to the World Championships later this year.
In the men’s 1500 meter final event, it was Ajay Kumar Saroj who showed enough grit and stamina to overtake three competitors in the final lap and really pushed the accelerator button to get his hands on a silver medal. With Jinson Johnson, having had to bow out due to a muscle strain, Saroj ensured India did not feel the lack of the army man as he shouldered the responsibility and clocked a silver medal win in 3:43:18 seconds.
Another star attraction of the day was the 4×400 meter women’s final. The squad comprising Prachi, M.R. Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwad and V.K. Vismaya managed to make amends when Vismaya steered the road towards a gold finish but had to settle for a silver as Bahrain’s Salwa Naser, took care of the final lap and dashed out of nowhere like a superjet to win gold for Bahrain in the last 50 meter. The Indians clocked their silver medal win in a season’s best 3:32:21 seconds lap whilst thanks to Naser, Bahrain finished in just 3:32:10 seconds.
The four-day athletic saga drew to a close with that and India finished with 17 medals to its name. With 3 gold medals, 7 silver and 7 bronze medals, India’s loot has been satisfactory from the Championships.
This post was published on April 25, 2019 6:39 pm