Asian Games 2023, Athletics Highlights: Ancy Sojan wins long jump silver; 4x400m mixed relay bronze upgraded to silver; Parul, Priti bag silver, bronze in steeplechase

As far as the Indian interest is concerned, athletics events are done for the day.

Parul Chaudhary and Priti Lamba won silver and bronze medals, respectively in women’s 3000m steeplechase.

Ancy Sojan clinched silver in women’s long jump with a new personal best of 6.63m.

Indian mixed relay team in 4x400m had initially won bronze but it got upgraded to silver after Sri Lanka got disqualification for lane infrigement.

And finally, Tejaswin Shankar finished on top at the end of five events in Decathlon with 4260 points.

Tejaswin Shankar, despite heavy strapping on his right thigh, wins the 400m race with a timing of 49.67s.

At the halfway stage in Decathlon, Tejaswin is on top with 4260 points. China’s Sun Qihao is second with 4010 points while Suttisak Singkhon of Thailand is just six points behind Sun in third place.

The remaining events, which will take place tomorrow - 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1500m.

India will now get a silver medal in the 4x400m mixed relay event after Sri Lanka’s disqualification for lane infringement.

Indian quartet of Muhammed Ajmal, R. Vithya Ramraj, Rajesh Ramesh and Subha Venkatesan wins bronze medal.

India finishes third with a timing of 3:14.34s. Sri Lanka takes silver with 3:14.25s while Bahrain wins gold with 3:14.02s.

Asian Games 2023: India’s bronze medal in 4x400m mixed relay upgraded to silver, Sri Lanka disqualified

India’s bronze medal in the 4x400m mixed relay event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Monday was later upgraded to silver after Sri Lanka’s disqualification for lane infrigement.

Shaili Singh can only produce a jump of 6.23m in the final round and is out of medal contention.

Ancy Sojan wins silver with a best jump of 6.63m produced in fifth round. China’s Xiong Shiqi wins gold with 6.73m while bronze goes to Hong Kong’s (China) with 6.50m.

Asian Games 2023: Ancy Sojan wins silver in women’s long jump

Ancy Sojan won silver medal in the women’s long jump at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Monday.

Tejaswin finishes at 2.21m as he decides to retire after one failed clearance at 2.24m. He scores 1002 points in the fourth event of Decathlon which takes him to the top of the table.

Here are the top three after four events:

Tejaswin Shankar (India) - 3430 points

Sun Qihao (China) - 3261 points

Suttisak Singkhon (Thailand) - 3195 points.

Shaili Singh comes up with her best jump of the night - 6.48m - but remains in fifth position.

Japan’s Sumire Hata matches her fourth-round attempt - 6.48m. Stay fourth.

Another foul for Hong Kong’s Yue Nga Yan.

Next up, Ancy Sojan. And she produces a new personal best of 6.63m which keeps her in second position!

Another 6.62m jump for Xiong Shiqi of China who stays on top of the table.

Tejaswin clears 2.18m in first attempt. Also clears the 2.21m in his third attempt. Solid lead for the Indian now. Going for 2.24m next.

Shaili comes up with a jump of 6.31m in this round. Her first-round jump of 6.38m is still her best tonight. She stays fifth.

Japan’s Sumire Hata, with 6.48m, is fourth.

Yue Nga Yan of Hong Kong fouls.

Ancy Sojan jumps 6.30m but her second-round effort of 6.56m is good enough to keep her silver medal position.

China’s Xiong Shiqi produces fourth straight jump over 6.50m. Series of 6.62m. 6.60m., 6.73m, 6.62m.

Tejaswin Shankar next clears 2.09m and 2.12m with ease which has now taken him to the top of the standings.

He clears 2.15m in his second attempt.

At the halfway mark (after three rounds), India’s Ancy Sojan is second with 6.56m while Shaili Singh is down to fifth with 6.38m.

China’s Xiong Shiqi leads with a personal best jump of 6.73m while Hong Kong’s Yue Nga Yan currently occupies the third spot with 6.50m

Tejaswin Shankar starts with the bar set at 1.97m and clears it in one go.

This particular event has already ended for the other six decathletes and out of those six, only China’s Sun Qihao could clear the 1.97m height.

Tejaswin has a great chance to score big in his best event and come back into medal contention.

Tejaswin clears 2.03m in his first attempt.

Amlan Borgohain in lane 3. Needs to have the race of his life to win a medal tonight.

Amlan tries his best to close the gap on the others on the bend but just does not have enough in him.

Japan’s Koki Ueyama (20.60s) wins the gold with Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Mohammed (20.63s) finishing second to take silver. Bronze goes to Yang Chun-Han (20.74s) of Chinese Taipei.

Amlan Borgohain finishes sixth with 20.98s.

Ancy Sojan is back in second spot as she matches her personal best of 6.56m. Excellent performance from the Indian so far.

Shaili produces a jump of 6.15m in this round, way below her first round jump of 6.38m

Pavithra Vengatesh fails to clear the 4.10m in her next two attempts as well and that is the end of the competition for the Indian who is also out of medal contention.

Thailand’s Chayanisa Chomchuendee, Japan’s Misaki Morota and Kazakhstan’s Anastasya Esmakova clear the 4.10m mark. The first two did it in their first attempts but it took the Kazakh three attempts to do it. China’s Li Ling and Niu Chunge are yet to even start.

Japan’s Sumire Hata, favourite for the gold medal, began with a foul but registers a safe jump in the second round - 6.35m - which takes her to fifth.

Defending champion - Thi Thu Thao Bui of Vietnam - has made two fouls.

India’s Ancy Sojan is third with 6.49m while Shaili is fourth with 6.38m at the end of second round.

Pavithra Vengatesh fails to clear 4.10m in her first attempt.

Ancy Sojan comes up with a jump of 6.49m in the second round to go past compatriot Shaili and move into second place as Shaili can only produce a jump of 6.34m this time, which is not better than her opening jump of 6.38m

Winfred Yavi has opened up a 40m lead with the final lap underway. The world champion is showing her class.

Winfred Yavi successfully defends her gold medal from 2018 with a timing of 9:18.28s.

Parul Chaudhary secures silver without much trouble but Priti, somehow, beats Mekonen to the line to win the bronze medal.

Another event at this Asian Games where India has two athletes on the podium!!!!

Here are you top three:

Winfred Yavi (Bahrain) - 9:18.28s - Games Record

Parul Chaudhary (India) - 9:27.63s

Priti Lamba (India) - 9:43.32s

Asian Games 2023: Parul Chaudhary wins silver medal in women’s 3000m steeplechase; Priti wins bronze

Parul Chaudhary won silver medal in the women’s 3000m steeplechase while Priti finished third to win bronze at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Monday.

At the halfway mark, it is Yavi and her compatriot Tigest Getent Mekonen occupy the top two spots. However, Parul is back in second place soon and it is a battle between Yavi and her for gold.

Yavi has increased the gap between her and Parul.

Pavithra clears the 4m mark with ease.

Parul Chaudhary is third with six laps to go. Early stages.

A lap later, world champion Yavi has decided to up the pace with Parul in second place. Priti in fourth spot.

Only seven finalists in this event out of which two are Indians - Parul Chaudhary and Priti Lamba. However, the outright favourite for the gold medal is the reigning world champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain.

Shaili Singh begins with a jump of 6.38m.

Safe first jump from Ancy Sojan too - 6.13m

India’s Pavithra Vengatesh is in action in women’s pole vault final. She has a personal best of 4.10m and she might have to better that to win a medal tonight.

Pavithra clears the height of 3.80m in her first attempt.

India last won an Asian Games medal in men’s 200m in 1978 when Ramaswamy Gnanasekaran clinched gold. Can Amlan Borgohain, who qualified for the final by 0.01s, end the medal drought tonight?

4:30PM IST - Women’s Pole Vault Final - Pavithra Vengatesh

4:35PM IST - Men’s Decathlon High Jump - Tejaswin Shankar

4:40PM IST - Women’s Long Jump Final - Shaili Singh, Ancy Sojan

4:50PM IST - Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Final - Parul Chaudhary, Priti

5:25PM IST - Men’s 200m Final - Amlan Borgohain

6:10PM IST - 4x400m Mixed Relay Final

6:40PM IST - Men’s Decathlon 400m - Tejaswin Shankar

Three bronze medals- two from roller skating and one from women’s doubles table tennis- for India means the nation will stay fourth in the medal standings with 56 medals in total. Click the link below to see the full list:

Asian Games 2023: Overall medals tally, October 2 - Parul, Priti win women’s 3000m SC silver and bronze; Ancy wins long jump silver; Ayhika-Sutirtha pair wins TT bronze; India stays 4th with 60 medals, 13 golds

Asian Games 2023: India continues to occupy the fourth spot in medal standings with 13 gold, 21 silver and 22 bronze medals. Athletes and shooters managed to grab 15 medals on Sunday and help India cross the 50-medal mark.

• Pavithra Vengatesh - W Pole Vault Final – 16:30 IST

• Tejaswin Shanker – M Decathlon High Jump – 16:35 IST

• Shaili Singh , Ancy Sojan - W Long Jump Final – 16:40 IST

• Parul Chaudhary , Priti Lamba – W 3000m Steeplechase – 16:50 IST

• Amlan Borgohain – M 200m Final – 17:25 IST

• Muhammed Anas, Jisna Mathew, Aishwarya Mishra, Soniya Baishya, Muhammed Ajmal – 4X400 Mixed Relay Finals – 18:10 IST

• Tejaswin Shanker – M Decathlon 400 m – 18:40 IST

Tejaswin starts off bright with a season best 13.39 throw. China’s Sun Qihao leads the chart with a monstrous 14.85 throw.

A 13.26 throw in his second attempt and follows it up with a 12.88 throw in his third attempt

Tejaswin finishes fifth, fifth on overall standings as well:

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While Tejaswin waits for his chance in shot put, his compatriot Vithya Ramraj will be in action in women’s 400m hurdles qualification round. First three in each heat will qualify for the final. And she finishes first and by a huge margin! Qualifies for the final in style as he attains her personal best and also equals PT Usha’s national record!

Final standings:

India’s Yashas Palaksha starts on lane 7. He started off slow but picked up pace in the final phase of the run to finish second with 49.61 on the clock and qualify for the final alongside compatriot Santhosh

Final standings:

Tejaswin will be back in action in men’s decathlon shot put even, that will start at 8:05am IST

India’s Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan is in action men’s 400m hurdles and he starts on lane 8. He gains an automatic qualification into the final as he finishes second with 49.28s on the clock!

Final standings:

Three consecutive 7+ jumps for Tejaswin. This time, he registers a 7.23m jump. He still maintains the top spot with his 7.37m first attempt

And that will do it, Tejaswin finishes first and collects 903 points

Overall standings as of now:

India’s Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath tops the chart in heat 2 with 1:46.79 on the clock to grab a direct qualification into the final

On heat 3, Krishan Kumar finishes second with 1:49.45 on the clock to qualify directly for the final as well

Heat 2 final standings:

Tejaswin registers a 7.23m jump to stay first in the standings after two attempts

Group A - Sandesh falters at 2.15, fails to clear it on his first try. Second attempt, and that’s an X as well. Failure in the third attempt as well and that will be the end of the road for him

Group B - Sarvesh fails 2.15 as well. He fails to clear it as well. Three Xs for Sarvesh as well. Disappointment for both the Indians

Tejaswin is all set to take part in the next decathlon event. He will jump after Thailand’s Suttisak of Thailand and Japan’s Taue

Superb start from Tejaswin as he registers a 7.37m jump, 17cm off the safe mark!

Group A - Sandesh clears a 2.10 jump. Touch and go for the Indian as he brushes past the pole

Group B - Sarvesh clears 2.10 as well. He’s tied first with three other athletes

India’s Sarvesh Kushare and Sandesh Jesse will be in action

First attempts:

Group A - Sandesh attempts a 2.00m jump and he does it without struggle. Tops the leaderboard alongside Korea’s Choi Jinwoo as of now

Group B - Sarvesh gets an identical result, registers a 2.00 jump

Qualification Rules: Qualifying performance 2.26 or at least 12 best performers advance to the Final

The athletes have lined up at the track. Tejaswin starts on lane eight and will be in action very soon

Japan’s Yuma Maruyama finishes first with 10.96s on the clock and understandably so, considering he’s the highest ranked athlete in contention (World rank 38 in decathlon)

Tejaswin finishes FOURTH as he clocked 11.12s. He collects 834 points. Yuma meanwhile has 870 points towards his name

• Tejaswin Shanker – M Decathlon 100m - 06:30 IST

• Sarvesh Anil Kushare, Jesse Sandesh - M High Jump Qualifying A & B- 06:40 IST

• Tejaswin Shanker – M Decathlon Long Jump – 07:00 IST

• Krishan Kumar, Muhammed Afsal - M 800m Round 1 – 07:17 IST

• Santhosh Kumar, Yashas Palaksha - M 400m Hurdles Round 1 – 07:45 IST

• Tejaswin Shanker – M Decathlon Shot Put - 08:05 IST

• Vithya Ramaraj , Sinchal Kaveramma - W 400m Hurdles Round 1 - 8:10 IST

India’s Jyothi Yarraji clinched silver in women’s 100m hurdles. But that came under a very dramatic circumstance. Here’s a story from our correspondent Uthra Ganesan, who witnessed the performance from ground zero:

Jyothi Yarraji Asian Games medal controversy: False start drama in Hangzhou explained

Jyothi Yarraji won a silver medal after drama in the women’s 100m hurdles race at the Asian Games. A Chinese runner made a false start but was allowed to continue. Yarraji won bronze originally but her medal was upgraded to silver upon review. Here’s why.

Ahead of the multi-day decathlon event, Sportstar managed to get hold of Tejaswin Shankar for an interaction where he spoke about his journey so far and his own growth, both as a person and an athlete. Click the link below to read the full story by our correspondent Uthra Ganesan:

Tejaswin Shankar: Paris Olympics might be my last as a high jumper

As the multi-day decathlon kicks off in Hangzhou, Tejaswin Shankar talks to Sportstar in length about his journey so far and his own growth, both as a person and an athlete.

The 19th edition of the Asian Games will be telecast live across the Sony Sports Network and can also be live streamed on the Sony LIV app/website