Asian Athletics Championships: India produce best-ever showing with 27 medals, Sreeshankar qualifies for Paris Olympics

India concluded their Asian Athletics Championships campaign with a tally of 27 medals, which includes six gold medals. India finished third in the showpiece event in Bangkok, Thailand, behind Japan (16 gold medals, 37 in total) and China (8 golds, 22 in total).

Quotas for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Asian Games later this year were at stake at the Asian Athletics Championships.

Murali Sreeshankar qualified for the Olympics after winning silver medal in Long Jump, while Jyothi Yarraji made it a tournament to remember with a gold in 100m hurdles and a silver in the 200m event.

Parul Chaudhary also won a gold in women’s steeplechase, in the 3000m and 5000m categories respectively.

With the Asian Athletics Championships done and dusted, let’s now take a look at how every athlete fared at the event:

Murali Sreeshankar: The 24-year-old from Kerala, won silver medal in men’s long jump, and as a result, secured qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Sreeshankar sealed the spot with an 8.37m jump.

This was Sreeshankar’s sixth top-three finish this year, while it was also his career’s second biggest jump. He beat his previous record of 8.41m at the Inter State Athletics Championships in June.

Jyothi Yarraji: Jyothi Yarraji had quite a tournament at the Asian Athletics Championships, winning a gold and a silver medal. She won gold in the women’s 100m hurdles, while clinching silver in the 200m category.

Parul Chaudhary: Like Jyothi, Parul Chaudhary completed a double in Bangkok. Chaudhary won gold in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final. She later clinched silver in the 5000m final, where she clocked 15 minutes and 52.35 seconds.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor: Tajinderpal Singh Toor defended his shot put title in Bangkok with a throw that went a distance of 20.23m. That was in his second attempt, but he limped out after that, having injured his groin.

Abdullah Aboobacker: Abdullah Aboobackar also won gold medal in men’s triple jump at the Asian Athletics Championships, and during the process, he set a new record with a jump of 16.92m.

Tejaswin Shankar: Tejaswin Shankar won bronze medal in men’s decathlon event. Tejaswin had already qualified for the Asian Games with a 7546 points at the National Championships in June. At the Asian Championships, Tejaswin earned 7527 points to finish third.

Shaili Singh: Shaili Singh won silver medal in the women’s long jump event at the Asian Championships with a best jump of 6.54m. Shaili’s attempt was eventually eclipsed by Sumire Hata of Japan, who completed a jump of 6.74m.

DP Manu: DP Manu, the 22-year-old from Karnataka, clinched silver medal in men’s javelin throw, with a throw of 81.01m

Other gold medal winners: Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m running), and mixed 4x400m relay team.

Other silver medal winners: Anil Sarvesh Kushare (Men’s high jump), Swapna Barman (Heptathlon), Priyanka Goswami (20 km race walk), Chanda (Women’s 800m running), Krishan Kumar (Men’s 800m), Abha Khatua (Women’s shot put) and men’s 4×400 relay team.

Other bronze medal winners: Abhishek Pal (Men’s 10000m running), Aishwarya Mishra (400m), Santosh Kumar (Men’s 400m hurdles), Vikash Singh (Men’s 20 km race walk), Ankita (Women’s 5000m), Manpreet Kaur (Women’s Shot put), Gulveer Singh (Men’s 5000m) and women’s relay (4×400).