HANGZHOU, China: The penultimate day of athletics competitions at the Asian Games showcased the brilliance of two standout athletes. Neeraj Chopra, competing in the javelin, delivered a season-best throw of 88.88 meters in the fourth round, surpassing the previous leader, fellow Indian Kishore Kumar Jena, who had a personal best of 87.54. Genki Dean of Japan secured third place with a throw of 82.68 meters.
Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar demonstrated his high-jumping prowess by clearing 235 centimeters, equaling his own Games record, and clinching his third Games gold medal. He outperformed Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo (233) and Japan’s Tomohiro Shinno (229).
Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew Sets New 5000m Record at Asian Games
Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew shattered the Games record in the 5000m with a time of 13:17.40, securing his second gold medal, ahead of India’s Avinash Sable (13:21.09).
Uzbekistan’s Sharifa Davronova triumphed in the triple jump with a personal best of 14.09 meters (0.3 wind), followed by Rui Zeng (13.92, -1.2) and Tharushi M. Dissanayaka of Sri Lanka.
In the Asian Games 800m, Tharushi M. Dissanayaka of Sri Lanka claimed the gold with a time of 2:03.20.
China dominated the 35km race walk mixed team competition, finishing 5 minutes and 30 seconds ahead of Japan. Outstanding individual performances came from Shijie Qieyang (2:45:13) and Xueying Bai (2:48:13) in the women’s race, as well as Japan’s Subaru Ishida (2:31:12) and Qin Wang (2:31:28) in the men’s race.
The female 4x400m relay team of Bahrain (Kemi Adekoya, Muna Mubarak, Zeinab Ali Mahamat, Salwa Eid Naser) set a new Games record with a time of 3:27.65, which was also a national record, edging out India (3:27.85). Kemi Adekoya earned her fourth gold medal of the Games after her impressive first leg split of 48.54 in the 4x400m relay, adding to her victories in the 400m, 400m hurdles, and 4x400m mixed relay.
In the men’s 4x400m relay, India secured the victory with a time of 3:01.58 (Y. Muhammed Anas, P.A. Amoj Jacob, V. Muhammad Ajmal, Rajesh Ramesh), ahead of Qatar (3:02.05) and Sri Lanka (3:02.55).
