Asian Athletics: India beat China, defend 4x400m mixed relay title

Indians enjoy another successful outing on the second day, adding six more medals to their tally

- TRIDIB BAPARNASH

India added six more medals on Day 2 of the 26th Asian Athletics Championships, strengthening their position in the standings. The highlight of the day was the successful defence of the 4x400m mixed relay title in Gumi, South Korea. Star decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, triple jumper Praveen Chithravel, and middle-distance runners Rupal Chaudhary and Pooja also contributed to the medal tally, each securing silver in their respective events.

The Indian team, comprising Rupal Chaudhary, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan, Vishal TK and Subha Venkatesan took the gold with a timing of 3:18.12 seconds. This is India's third medal in mixed relay at the Asian Championships, following the gold from 2023 and the silver from 2019, when the event was first introduced in the competition. Running the first leg, Santosh gave India a brilliant start by leading the home stretch before passing the baton to Rupal, who faced a tough competition from her Chinese counterpart. Rupal managed to hold on to the charge before passing it to Vishal, who overcame the initial pressure to continue the momentum for Subha to close off the race in style.