Gold rush for Indian athletes on rainy Day 3

CLINCHING gold seemed to be the goal for Indian athletes at the Asian Athletics Championships and the delay in proceedings due to heavy rain in Gumi didn't deter them either.

- CHANDRA PRABHU @ Chennai

Day Three of the Asian meet will remain as a good memory for hurdler Jyoti Yarraji, steeplechaser Avinash Sable and the women's 4x400m relay team after they won gold in their events on Thursday.

With five gold, six silver and three bronze medals, India are back on the top two of the overall medal table. Coming in as the defending champion, women hurdler and national record holder Jyoti Yarraji did not want to lose her coveted spot. Her eight-stepped run to the first hurdle seemed slow. But she progressively gained pace amidst the close battle between China's Wu Yanni and Japan's Yumi Tanaka. Yarraji plunged towards the finish line leaving her competitors behind just after the final hurdle. The 25-year-old couldn't have expected more.

This run of 12.96s, a championship record, has boosted her confidence leading up to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo later this year.