Gold in 4x400m mixed relay for India on rainy day, Chithravel bags silver

It was quite an eventful day in Gumi, not just for the Indian athletes who had some commendable outings but also the conditions.

- Chandra Prabhu @ Chennai

It rained and rained, literally during the Asian Athletics Championships on Wednesday. Suddenly the conditions turned hostile and the torrential downpour forced athletes off the track, something not always seen during athletics. Yet India managed a handful of good shows on the track as well as on the field.

Praveen Chithravel felt the vagaries of nature to finish second while Tejaswin Shankar missed out on gold by a whisker. Rupal Chaudhury finished second in 400m while the mixed relay team won gold, the second for the country.

The rain did affect a few of the events as well. One athlete who had to stop his vocation midway was Chithravel who ended with a silver in triple jump. He along with his teammate Abdullah Abubakar were midway into their competition when the event was halted due to rain. Because of Chithravel's recent record, he managed a 17.37m national record-equalling feat at the Federation Athletics Championships; he was one of the favourites to win gold along with Abubakar.