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Sable clocked 8:20.92seconds to clinch the yellow metal in the 3000m steeplechase before hurdler Yarraji timed 12.96 seconds to defend her title and smash the championship record.
Jyothi Yaraji. (X)
Indian athlete Avinash Sable claimed the top spot in the 3000m Steeplechase event at the Asian Athletics Championships on Thursday. The 30-year-old Indian clocked 8:20.92 seconds to clinch the yellow metal ahead of Japan’s Yutaro Niinae.
Hurdler Jyothi Yarraji timed 12.96 seconds to defend her title at the event, with a championship record smashing the previous record of 13.04 seconds held by Kazakhstan’s Olga Shishigina and China’s Sun Yawei.
The 4x400m relay quartet of Jisna Mathew, Rupal Chaudhary, Kunja Rajitha and Subha Venkatesan clinched gold, clocking their season-best time of 3:34.18sec to extend India’s shining run in South Korea.
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Sable comfortably lived up to expectations, solidifying the country’s standing in the 26th edition of the continental tournament.
Niinae, who finished behind Sable with a time of 8:24.41, led at the start of the final lap. However, the Indian athlete produced a brilliant effort to overtake him and claim the top prize.
The Hangzhou Asian Games gold-medalist maintained his lead with four laps remaining, although two Japanese athletes were close behind him.
Niinae overtook Sable with three laps left, but the Indian ultimately prevailed. Qatar’s Zakaria Elahlaami earned the bronze, finishing in 8:27.12.
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Earlier in the day, India’s 4x400m men’s relay team, consisting of Rince Joseph, Dharmveer Choudhary, Manu Thekkinalil Saji, and Mohit Kumar, advanced to the final with their best-ever performance, topping the heats on Thursday.
The quartet will start from lane five in the final after clocking 3:06.28.
In the heats, India outpaced China, who timed 3:06.79) and hosts Korea, who timed 3:10.05 to secure direct qualification.
The final lineup includes strong contenders such as Sri Lanka, China, and Kazakhstan, with Sri Lanka boasting the season’s fastest time of 3:01.56.
In the women’s 10,000m final, India’s Sanjeevani Jadhav clocked a season-best of 33:08.17, finishing fifth, followed closely by Seema in sixth at 33:08.23.
The event was dominated by Daisy Jepkemei of Kazakhstan (30:48.44), with Japan’s Ririrak Hironika (30:56.32) and Mikuni Yada (31:12.21) taking the second and third spots.
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