The second day of the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi, South Korea, witnessed a stellar performance from Indian athletes, with Rupal Chaudhary and Pooja securing silver medals in their respective events, and Yoonus Shah clinching a bronze. These achievements bring India's total medal count to five, building upon the gold won by Gulveer Singh in the 10,000m on the first day and Servin Sebastian's bronze in the 20km race walk.
Rupal Chaudhary, a quarter-miler, initiated India's medal haul for the day by finishing second in the women's 400m final. She clocked an impressive 52.68 seconds. While fellow Indian Vithya Ramraj finished fifth with a time of 53.00 seconds, the gold medal was secured by Japan's Nanako Matsumoto (52.17s), and Uzbekistan's Jonbibi Hukmova (52.79s) took the bronze. Rupal's achievement is particularly noteworthy considering her past success. She had previously made history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals at the World U20 Athletics Championships in 2022, securing a silver in the 4x400m relay and a bronze in the individual 400m event. The 20-year-old, who comes from a farming family in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, is considered a promising talent for India.
Pooja added another silver to India's tally in the women's 1500m, clocking 4:10.83sec. Lili Das, another Indian athlete, closely followed in fourth place with a time of 4:13.81sec. China's Li Chunhui clinched the gold medal with a time of 4:10.58, while Japan's Tomaka Kimura secured the bronze with a season's best time of 4:11.56.
In the men's 1500m, Yoonus Shah contributed to India's success by winning a bronze medal with a time of 3:43.03. Japan's Kazuto Iizawa won the gold with a personal best of 3:42.56, and South Korea's Jaeung Lee finished second with 3:42.79. Earlier in the competition, Yoonus Shah qualified for the men's 1500m final by finishing second in his heats with a time of 3:46.96.
Other Indian athletes also put up commendable performances. Vishal Thennarasu Kayalvizhi recorded a personal best of 45.57s in the men's 400m, finishing fourth. Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan both qualified for the final of the women's long jump event. In the Women's Long Jump (Qualification) event, Indian athlete Ancy Sojan finished third (6.14m) whereas Shaili Singh ended up second with a jump of 6.17m. Sanjivani Baburao Jadhav and Seema competed in the women's 10,000m final.
On the first day, Gulveer Singh secured a gold medal in the men's 10,000m event with a time of 28:38.63. Servin Sebastian won a bronze medal in the 20km race walk. However, Asian Games champion Annu Rani missed out on a medal in the women's javelin throw, finishing fourth with a best throw of 58.30m.
Live streaming of the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 is available on the STN SPORTS YouTube channel in India, as there is no live telecast on any TV channel in India.
