BANGKOK, July 12: Abhishek Pal opened India’s medal account in the Asian Athletics Championships with a bronze on the opening day of competitions here on Wednesday.
Pal clocked 29 minute 33.26 seconds to finish behind Ren Tazawa (29.18.44) of Japan and Koech Kimutai Shadrack (29:31.63) of Kazakhstan.
The-25-year-old Pal from Indian army pushed hard in the last lap of the race to cross the finish line in 29:33.36 seconds to win first medal for the Indian contingent on Wednesday.
While experienced javelin thrower Annu Rani missed the podium, she finished fourth with a throw of 59.10m. Middle distance runner Lili Das too missed the podium in the women’s 1500m. She clocked 4:27 to finish seventh. The competitor battled hot and humid conditions during the men’s 25-lap race. The athletes string out after two laps and Japan’s Ren Tazawa took the pole position. He wasn’t challenged by his rivals and eventually won gold with a time of 29:18.44 seconds.
Kazakhstan’s Shadrack Kimutai Koech took home silver with a time of 29:31.63 seconds.Pal and compatriot Gulveer Singh stayed behind the leading runners for almost the entire race. Pal, however, pushed hard in the last lap and overtook tiring Japanese runner Yuto Imae, who was fourth, to cross the finish line in third place. (PTI)
