With a haul of 254 medals from the 18 preceding editions going into the Hangzhou Asian Games, athletics had been India’s most productive medal sport at the continental Games. At the last Games in Jakarta five years ago, track and field accounted for 20 medals (8 gold, 9 silver, 3 bronze) to become the lead contributor to India’s 70-medal surge, their highest ever.
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On the evidence of Sunday’s medal rush, India seem poised not only to add handsomely to the athletics medal count from the previous Games but to overhaul the total medal count from the 2018 Games in Indonesia. India turned up in style on the second day of athletics events, bagging nine medals (2 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) to add to the lone bronze they won on Saturday.
The biggest focus though was the drama involving 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, whose bronze was upgraded to silver after the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) lodged a protest about local athlete Wu Yanni’s initial disqualification for a false start being revoked. For several minutes, Yarraji and Wu were seen debating with track officials near the start as they repeatedly viewed the video of the incident.
When the race finally started, Wu was allowed to run. She finished second, but was eventually disqualified and Yarraji (12.91 secs) was placed second. China’s Lin Yuwei took gold clocking 12.74secs. Japan’s Yumi Tanaka, who had come in fourth, was upgraded to bronze (13.04secs).
Also Read: Asian Games: Sable sets own agenda for steeplechase gold; Punia in podium at 40
Drama began after the race was stopped for a false start. Wu, who seemed the offender, was immediately disqualified, but the technical officials soon informed Yarraji that she too had been disqualified. Yarraji threw up hands in dismay and stood her ground before going up to the monitor to check. After deliberations that lasted over ten minutes, the disqualification of both the athletes was revoked.
The Indian side, led by chief national coach Radhakrishnan Nair and deputy chef-de-mission Ravinder Chaudhary, lodged a protest against retaining Wu. “The rules clearly state that whoever leaves the ground first in case of a false start is disqualified. Jyothi’s hands were still on the ground while the Chinese athlete was already one-and-a-half steps ahead of her. We lodged the protest and paid the $100 fee mandated for lodging protests and won. Jyothi’s medal has been upgraded to silver,” AFI senior vice-president and former India long jumper Anju Bobby George said.
Yarraji claimed her timing could have been better but for the distraction. “Whatever happened distracted me. This was my last international competition of the season and I wanted to finish really strong. But whatever happened did disturb my rhythm,” she said.
Avinash Sable though was a clear winner. India’s serial record-setter in the 3000m steeplechase ran a brilliantly judged race to win India their first athletics gold of this Asiad. The army man hit the front early and bettered the Games record, clocking 8 minutes, 19.50 seconds. The previous mark of 8:22.79 was set in 2018 by Iran’s Hossein Keyhani.
Sable, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, had struggled earlier in the season, including the Budapest World Championships. He said: “It was a good win. It showed that I can win big races without needing to follow the pace-setter. I wanted to set my own pace and did that,” said the 29-year-old from Beed, Maharashtra.
Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, the continental record holder, defended his title with a throw of 20.36m on his sixth and last attempt. Toor, who had struggled with a groin injury earlier in the season, upstaged Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed Daouda Tolo, whose fourth attempt of 20.18m had looked good enough for gold until Toor’s last-ditch effort.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar ended a five-year wait for an Asian Games podium finish with silver, jumping 8.19m. Of his four legal jumps, the 24-year-old went past 8 metres thrice, making amends for his elimination in qualifying at the Budapest worlds.
“The wait has ended. I wanted gold but Wang Jianan (China-8.22m) was too good. The conditions were good too and I felt in great rhythm,” said Sreeshankar, who plans to celebrate with fried chicken for dinner.
The day began with Aditi Ashok frittering away a seven-shot lead going into the final round at the West Lake Golf Course and missing the chance to become the first Indian woman — and third overall — to win an individual gold in golf. The 25-year-old’s 5-over par final round (aggregate 271) was still good for silver, having suffered the heartbreak of slipping to fourth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Thailand’s Yubol Arpichaya won gold with a brilliant 4-under par final round in testing conditions while South Korea’s Yoo Hyunjo claimed bronze.
There were more medals for India on the final day of shooting competitions. The men’s trap team of Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu and Prithviraj Tondaiman won gold, shooting a Games record score of 361 out of 375. Chenai went on to win the individual bronze. India finished with a record haul of 22 medals in shooting (7 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze).
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