Asian Championships: Late surge helps Abhishek Pal pip Imae to the bronze

Proud moment: Abhishek Pal after winning the bronze at the Asian Championships in Bangkok on Wednesday. 
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Japanese are the kings of distance running in Asia. They are so strong that they occupy 98 of the top 100 rungs in this year’s men’s 10,000m Asian list.

But Abhishek Pal, who is in the 189th spot in the list and who could not win gold in the 10,000m in the recent Federation Cup and the Inter-State Nationals, came up with some fine end-game heroics to outwit Japan’s Yuto Imae and take the 10,000m bronze at the 25th Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok on Wednesday.

It was India’s first medal at this Asians and Abhishek’s first major international medal. Federation Cup champion Gulveer Singh, who had beaten Abhishek twice this season, finished fifth in the event where Japan’s Asian leader Ren Tazawa came with a fine piece of front running to take the gold.

“I saw Imae slowing down in last two laps. I gradually tracked him down and pushed hard in the last 400m to win bronze,” said Abhishek.

Japan’s Marina Saito pulled off what is probably the opening day’s biggest upset, shocked China’s Olympic champion Liu Shiying for the women’s javelin gold. Annu Rani, silver medallist at the last Asians in Doha who was forced to break her training in Germany and miss competitions in Europe this season over visa issues, finished fourth.

Tejaswin Shankar, the high jump national record-holder, was in the lead in decathlon after the opening day’s events. Shankar, who topped the 400m (49.57s), long jump (7.48m) and high jump (2.14m), had a 100-point advantage over Thailand’s Suttisak Singkhon, the 2018 Asian Games silver medallist and 2017 Asian champion.

In the 400m, Rajesh Ramesh (45.91s) and Muhammed Ajmal (45.76) in the men’s section and Aishwarya Mishra (53.58s) in women’s qualified for the final.

But there was some disappointment in the women’s 1500m where Lili Das, who has a personal best of 4:12.57s (2022) and a season best of 4:14.16s, finished seventh in 4:27.61s.

The results (medallists and Indian performances):

Men: 10,000m: 1. Ren Tazawa (Jpn) 29:18.44s, 2. Shadrack Kumutai Koech (Kaz) 29:31.63, 3. Abhishek Pal (Ind) 29:33.26. 5. Gulveer Singh (Ind) 29:53.69; 4x100m relay: 1. Thailand (38.55s), 2. China (38.87), 3. Korea (38.99).

Women: 1500m: 1. Tanaka Nozomi (Jpn) 4:06.75s MR, OR 4:12.69, 2. Goto Yume (Jpn) 4:13.25, 3. Aberathna Gayanthika (Sri) 4:14.39. 7. Lili Das (Ind) 4:27.61; 4x100m relay: 1. China (43.35s), 2. Japan (43.95), 3. Thailand (44.56); Triple jump: 1. Mariko Morimoto (Jpn) 14.06m, 2. Rui Zeng (Chn) 14.01, 3. Thi Huong Nguyen (Vie) 13.68;

Javelin: 1. Marina Saito (Jpn) 61.67m, 2. Liu Shiying (Chn) 61.51, 3. Nadeesha Hatarbage (Sri) 60.93, 4. Annu Rani (Ind) 59.10.