Poor show by Indian walkers

At the IAAF world race walking team championships in Taicang, China, Olympian K. T. Irfan finished 49th, while Vikas Singh and Neeraj Sharma took the 64th and 71st spots respectively.

Olympian K. T. Irfan took the 49th spot.

The disappointing run of the Indians continued for the second successive day at the IAAF World race walking team championships in Taicang, China, on Sunday. Olympian K. T. Irfan finished 49th, while Vikas Singh and Neeraj Sharma took the 64th and 71st spots respectively.

National champion Irfan, the best Indian here and a man with a personal best of 1:20.21s, clocked 1:29.12s, a time which was nearly eight minutes slower than his season’s best. It was a similar story for the others, too.

Koki Ikeda wins gold

Japan’s Koki Ikeda won the gold in 1:21.13s while China’s Kaihua Wang took silver in 1:21.22.

The poor show also meant the Indian men finished a lowly 14th in the team championship. They were seventh in the last edition in 2016.

• 1. Koki Ikeda (Jpn) 1:21.13s, 49. K. T. Irfan (Ind) 1:29.12, 64. Vikas Singh (Ind) 1:31.50, 71. Neeraj Sharma (Ind) 1:32.56. Team championship: 1. Japan, 14. India.