Hiroki Yanagita narrowly wins the 100m ahead of Puripol Boonson at the Asian Championships in Gumi (© Edwin Koo / Asian Athletics)
The first phase of the Asian Championships, taking place in Gumi from 27-31 May, witnessed some intriguing moments as rain marred proceedings on the second and third day’s evening sessions.
The women’s 10,000m on the second day was interrupted midway and held the following morning. The third day’s events commenced after a 90-minute delay due to a heavy downpour. However, the athletes overcame stiff challenges to deliver commendable performances as the championships crossed its first half.
Held on the second day (28 May), the men’s 100m final was an electrifying race involving the continent’s finest sprinters. Last year’s world U20 silver medallist Puripol Boonson logged the fastest time of 10.22 in the heats and 10.27 in the semifinals, making himself a favourite for a podium finish.
In the final, Japan’s defending champion Hiroki Yanagita was quicker to get out of the blocks. Thailand’s Boonson desperately tried to catch up with him and the duo had a tight finish, Yanagita successfully defending his title by a thrilling two-thousandths of a second (10.194 to 10.196). Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Abkar Mohammed, the runner-up in Bangkok two years ago, was lucky to make it to the podium again with a bronze medal in yet another close finish from Oman’s Malham Al-Balushi (10.296 to 10.299).
In the women’s 100m, China’s 28-year-old Liang Xiaojing made a memorable comeback to win the title here. Having been disqualified in the qualifying rounds in the last edition, the 2019 Asian silver medallist needed to prove a point, which she did with a resounding 11.37 victory over defending champion Shanti Veronica Pereira from Singapore, who clocked 11.41 for the silver.
India’s Jyothi Yarraji also impressed as she retained the crown in the 100m hurdles with a championship record of 12.96. The day before, she was drawn with top-ranked athletes and finished third in her heat. Even in the final, Yarraji was slow in the start but made a gallant effort to make up midway, which helped her post a stunning victory over her arch-rival, Wu Yanni from China. Incidentally, Wu was pipped at the wire by Japan’s Tanaka Yumi (13.061 to 13.068) for the silver. With today’s win, Yarraji erased the 27-year-old championship record of 12.97 held by Feng Yun of China since 1998.
Jyothi Yarraji celebrates her win and championship record at the Asian Championships in Gumi (© Edwin Koo / Asian Athletics)
On the contrary, in the men’s 110m hurdles, Paris Olympics fifth-place finisher Rachid Muratake from Japan took the lead right from the start to finish in 13.22, ahead of the Chinese duo of Liu Junxi (13.31) and Qin Weibo (13.45).
Other athletes who continued their success stories from Bangkok included Chinese throwers Wang Qi (hammer, 74.50m) and Feng Bin (discus, 61.90m) as well as the home favourite Woo Sanghyeok (high jump, 2.29m).
Woo, the two-time world indoor high jump champion, made seamless first attempt clearances up to 2.29m and went on to try 2.33m but was unsuccessful.
In the women’s discus, Thailand’s Subenrat Insaeng won her fourth consecutive medal in the championships. She won a silver medal in 2017 and claimed two bronze medals in the subsequent editions before climbing to the second position behind three-time champion Feng in Gumi.
Indian distance runners Gulveer Singh (10,000m) and Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase) registered facile victories in their respective events. Incidentally, Singh was fifth in 2023 while Sable won a silver in 2019.
The Indian 4x400m quartets returned with some excellent results. They retained the top spot in the mixed 4x400m (3:18.12) and avenged their defeat to Vietnam in the women’s race (3:34.18). Their men’s team narrowly finished second to Qatar (3:03.52 to 3:03.67).
On the opening day (27 May), Chinese athletes triumphed in the 20km race walk events through Wang Zhaozhao (1:20:37) and Yin Hang (1:30:44). Wang bettered the previous championship record of 1:21:12 held by his compatriot Han Yucheng since 2003.
While some athletes cherished sweet memories in Gumi, there were upsets for others. In the men’s 400m, Japan’s defending champion Kentaro Sato finished second to Qatar’s Ammar Ismail Ibrahim (45.33). In the women’s race, reigning champion Nadeesha Ramanayake from Sri Lanka finished seventh in a race won by Japan’s Nanako Matsumoto.
China’s Fei Xiang won the decathlon, while defending champion Yuma Maruyama of Japan withdrew after nine events.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Zhu Yaming won the men’s triple jump in which 2023 champion Abdulla Aboobacker finished fourth, the same position claimed by 2023 champion Sumire Hata in a women’s long jump competition won by Reyhaneh Mobini Arani.
China leads proceedings with 12 titles from 27 events during the first three days.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for World Athletics
