Athletics continued to contribute medals for India in huge numbers as seven more medals were won in the sport across various disciplines on Wednesday, October 4. While double podium finish in javelin throw including a Gold by Neeraj Chopra will headline the track and field athletes’ performance on Wednesday, soon after the men’s relay team featuring Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh finished the 4x400m race at the number one position with a timing of 3:01.58 to clinch a Gold medal.
The Indian quartet in the end won rather comfortably after Jacob, who ran in the second position made a comfortable distance of more than 90 seconds from the second-placed Qatar athlete. Ajmal and Rajesh continued on Jacob’s good work as even though Bassem Hemeida, the fourth runner for Qatar did try his best to cover the lost ground with a great push in the final 100 metres. However, it wasn’t to be in the end as Rajesh had just enough legs in him to keep the momentum and reach the finish line in the first spot.
India qualified for the finals by clocking 3:03.81 minutes in heat 1 leaving the likes of Qatar, Japan and Iraq behind. The same quartet of Anas, Ajmal, Jacob and Rajesh clocked a timing of 2:59.05 minutes to qualify for the finals in the Athletics Championships recently behind the eventual champion USA.
Apart from javelin and relay, other athletics events to contribute to the medal tally were men’s 5000m where Avinash Sable won a Silver medal, following up his Gold in the 3000m steeplechase. Harmilan Bains followed her 1500m Silver medal with another Silver in 800m and the women’s team of Vithya Ramraj, Prachi, Subha Venkatesan and Aishwarya Kailash Mishra won a Silver in the 4x400m relay.
18 Gold medals is the highest for India in an Asian Games edition and the overall tally has now reached 81, which has already become the highest for the country in the quadrennial event. Athletics has contributed 29 medals for India so far with just a couple of events in marathon remaining.
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