Asian Games: Kartik, Gulveer win silver & bronze in 10000m

Kartik Kumar
Kartik Kumar celebrates as he crosses the finishing line. Photo: PTI/Shailendra Bhojak

Hangzhou: Indian long-distance runners Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh bagged a silver and bronze medal respectively in the men's 10000m race with personal best times at the Asian Games here on Saturday.

Kartik won the silver with a timing of 28:15.38s while Gulveer clocked 28:17.21s to claim the bronze.

Both the Indians sneaked into medal contention in the last 100 metres after three of the fellow competitors fell in succession after bumping into each other.

Birhanu Yemataw Balew of Bahrain won the gold medal with a timing of 28:13.62 seconds.

Kartik's earlier personal best time was 28:55.00s which he had clocked while winning a bronze in the National Games last year. He had won gold in the National Inter-State Championships in June with a time of 29:01.84s.

Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh
Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh celebrate their feat. Photo: PTI/Shailendra Bhojak

"I knew that I would win a medal but I had come with the target of breaking the national record by clocking 27:50s. But I could not. I was slow in between, the race was also slow from the beginning," said Kartik, who hails from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The national record stands at 28:02.89s in the name of Surendra Singh since 2008.

In the 400m race final, Aishwarya Mishra finished fourth with a time of 53.50s in the women's event while Keralite Muhammed Ajmal clocked 45.97s to end up fifth in the men's competition.

In the 1500m, Keralite Jinson Johnson and Ajay Kumar Saroj qualified for the final by clocking 3:56.93s and 3:51.93 seconds in their respective heats.

While Saroj finished second in his heat, Johnson was fifth.

Jeswin Aldrin and M Sreeshankar leaped 7.67m and 7.97m to qualify for the final of the men's long jump event.

In women's 100m hurdles, Jyothi Yarraji clocked 13.03s to finish second in her heat and qualify for the final.

But it was heartbreak for the other Indian in the fray, Nithya Ramraj who finished fifth in her heat with a timing of 13.30s and failed to qualify for the final.

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