India produced its joint-best performance at the Asian Athletics Championships in 23 years to finish third in the medal standings. With six gold medals, Indian athletes won a whopping 11 medals more (27), than the 2019 edition (16).
The four-day event in Bangkok, Thailand served as a litmus test for India's track and field athletes ahead of the 2023 Asian Games, which will get underway in China from September 23.
While India's campaign was marred by doping suspensions prior to the event, the on-field performances showed that the sport was on the right track [for most parts]. Tajinderpal Singh Toor defended his shot-put title, while Jyothi Yarraji and Parul Chaudhary won a gold and silver each, with Tejaswin Shankar also impressing on his decathlon debut for India.
The icing on the cake, however, was Sreeshankar Murali's silver medal in the men's long jump, which was not only his best jump abroad but also won him a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Here is ESPN's review of India's Asian Athletics Championships 2023 campaign:
Sreeshankar proves his mettle
Sreeshankar produced something special at the Inter-State Championships last month: an 8.41m jump which ranks #2 in 2023's top jumps. But his jump in Bangkok on Saturday, of 8.37m, was arguably even better. Why?
Qualified for the Paris Olympics
His best jump abroad
His second-best jump ever
His sixth podium-finish of the year
Need we say more?
QUALIFIED FOR PARIS OLYMPICS! ����Sreeshankar Murali's huge 8.37m leap in his final attempt won him ��at the 25th Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand. ����
��: Asian Athletics Championships 2023/YT#LongJump #AsianAthletics #CraftingVictories ���� pic.twitter.com/5PfHFG1RFM
- Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) July 15, 2023
Sreeshankar became the first Indian jumper to secure a podium finish at a Diamond League event [Paris, last month] and has been growing from strength to strength. He remains a bright prospect ahead at this year's World Championships and Asian Games.
Tejaswin excels in the decathlon, but high jump remains the way forward
A year after taking up decathlon, Tejaswin did creditably well to win bronze at the Asian Athletics Championships. It was the first time he was representing the nation in the decathlon and this was only the fourth decathlon of his career.
He finished with his lowest-ever tally, but there were positives to look at: he got personal bests in javelin throw and discus throw and totalled his highest-ever day two score. However, he's clear that he will compete in the decathlon only at the Asian level and would want to focus on his pet event, the high jump, in bigger competitions.
This approach ought to work for Tejaswin, considering how gruelling the decathlon is. If he were to compete in both events across competitions, one event would have to take a hit. Take this competition for example, where he signed up to compete in the high jump as well, merely a day after the decathlon. He managed to clear only the 2.10m mark, a long way from his best of 2.29m.
Jyothi's consistent show continues
Jyothi is the epitome of consistency in Indian athletics today. She ran the 100m hurdles in under 13 seconds for the sixth time in the semifinal to set herself up for the gold. Sample this: no Indian woman hurdler has ever run the 100m hurdles in under 13s and Jyothi has done it six times in 2023. She ran a brilliant race, amidst heavy rain, to win gold in the hurdles and followed it up with a personal best timing of 23.13s to bag silver in the 200m dash.
* #TOPSchemeAthlete Jyothi Yarraji won ��, giving her personal best of 22.13s in Women's 200m Final Event. This was also her 2⃣nd medal of the Asian Championships pic.twitter.com/emOK1tkkNv
- SAI Media (@Media_SAI) July 16, 2023
The win here does a world of good for Jyothi, as she collects valuable points to climb up the rankings ladder for this August's World Championships.
Swapna climbs the podium while battling pain, again
Swapna Barman's back is in such bad shape that she cannot climb the stairs, jump hurdles or even perform a single squat. On a good day, she can squeeze in one training session. And yet she won a remarkable silver in the heptathlon. It brings back memories of the 2018 Asian Games when Swapna, with layers of tape on her jaw, battled tooth pain to win gold.
"See it's like this - before dying we must do something and show. I don't want people to say 'she stopped because she's unable to do it, because she's losing to everyone'," she says.
Pains and strains don't break Swapna, they only make her want to fight harder.
Abdulla and Shaili impress; Manu bounces back
Abdulla Aboobacker pulled out the big guns to win the men's triple jump. He leapt 16.92m, his career's fourth-best jump, to win his first international medal since the Commonwealth Games silver last year.
He also grabbed crucial ranking points for the World Championships, as did women's long jump silver-medallist Shaili Singh. The 19-year-old won her first international medal, although she did finish third at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Japan a month ago.
Manu DP, India's second-best javelin thrower [after Neeraj Chopra, of course], shook off a poor show at the Inter-State Championships to win silver with a best throw of 81.01m. Manu did not meet the Athletics Federation of India's entry standard for the Asian Games, but with India #3 Rohit Yadav sidelined by an elbow injury, Manu might have helped his cause with this silver.
* #TOPSchemeAthlete Manu DP produced a best throw of 81.01m to win ��in Men's Javelin Throw Final Event. pic.twitter.com/nFoPmDL0wu
- SAI Media (@Media_SAI) July 16, 2023
Annu's form is concerning, women's 4x400m relay team needs work
India's top javelin thrower, Annu Rani, managed a best of 59.10m to finish fourth and miss out on a medal. Annu is placed well [ranked 29] to qualify for the Worlds, but the fact that she has not crossed the 60m mark since winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games last year is very concerning.
Similarly, the women's 4x400m relay team will need to improve drastically before the Asian Games. The quartet of won bronze with a timing of 3:33.73s, which is nearly five seconds slower than what the Indian team clocked to win gold at the Asian Games [3:28.72s].
Special mentions
Parul once again stamped her class by winning gold in the 3000m steeplechase and a silver in the 5,000m. Tajinder, who braved a groin injury, was the only Indian to defend his title, while Gulveer Singh, who was making his international debut, did remarkably well to finish fifth in the 10,000m and win bronze in the 5,000. The 4x400m mixed relay team were exceptional to clock a new national record and take home the gold.