The evening session ended on a disappointing note as Annu Rani narrowly missed adding a bronze medal to the tally as she finished fourth in the women's javelin throw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The day belonged to Gulveer as he bagged the first gold of the campaign for the Indian contingent, as in the morning session, race walker Servin Sebastian clinched bronze in the 20km race walk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In a battle of wits, Gulveer 26, surged ahead of his rivals in the last lap of the 10,000m race to post a time of 28:38.63, which was slower than his personal best of 27:00.22 clocked in March this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The warm local weather conditions at the time of the 25-lap race robbed the Indian runner of a fast time; nonetheless, he was elated to have pocketed gold at the continental meet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIrrespective of the time, the main goal was to finish first. I\u2019m happy to have successfully implemented my race strategy,\u201d Singh said in the post-race interaction. \u201cThe gold medal will certainly enhance my world ranking and brighten chances to win a ticket to the Tokyo World Athletics Championships in September,\u201d Gulveer was quoted as saying by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The automatic qualification in the men\u2019s 10,000m is 27:00.00. Singh had narrowly missed the qualification mark in March at The Ten in California, USA. But recorded a personal best of 27:00.22 in California.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Athletes can also qualify for the World Championships through the global ranking system. Tuesday's gold medal in Gumi will improve Singh\u2019s world ranking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Due to warm weather conditions, the local organising committee had a water station during the 10,000m track race. Singh said he conserved every ounce of his energy for the last lap and produced the kick at the right time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI surged ahead in the last lap and shifted to top gear at the 200m mark of the race. Had someone pushed me, I could have gone faster as I wasn\u2019t tired after crossing the finish line,\u201d the national record holder added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sawan Barwal, the second Indian in the race, finished fourth with a time of 28:50.53.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Boosted by the gold, Gulveer would be hoping to complete a grand double in the men\u2019s 5,000m, which is scheduled for the last day of the championship (May 31). All the runners, including Gulveer, will get enough time to recover for another exciting race.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier in the morning session, Servin Sebastian set the ball rolling for India by winning the first medal, a bronze in the men\u2019s 20km race walk. The 26-year-old Army athlete clocked 1:21:13.90, a personal best on his debut at the continental level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt was a good race. I\u2019m happy to be among the medal winners in my first race at the continental,\u201d Sebastian told the AFI after his event.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sebastian has been consistent in his performance since the beginning of the 2025 season. In February, he won the 20km race walk gold at the Uttarakhand National Games with a time of 1:21:23. His second gold (1:21:47) at the domestic event was at the Indian Open Race Walking Competition in April in Chandigarh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The medal winners in the race walk bettered the championship record of 1:24:42 set by Japanese Yutaro Murayama at the previous edition of the continental meet in 2023 in Bangkok.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sebastian stayed with the leading pack of seven athletes for a major part of the gruelling 20km event. Despite the tempo of the race getting faster, he continued to maintain a good pace as the leading group was reduced to three, including one Chinese and one Japanese.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
However, in the last 2km of the race Wang Zhaozhao and Kento Yoshikawa opened up a small gap, which eventually widened as the Indian walker wasn\u2019t able to catch up. \u201cI made efforts to narrow the gap but ended up in third place,\u201d Sebastian added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Amit, the second Indian race walker, finished fourth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India\u2019s ace female javelin thrower Annu Rani finished fourth with a distance of 58.30m. She had a series of 56.92m, no mark, 58.30m, 58.11m, 57.80m, and no mark in the final throw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India\u2019s Yoonus Shah advanced to the medal round in the men\u2019s 1500m. Shah finished second in his heat with a time of 3:46.96. Servesh Anil Kushare also advanced to the final in the men\u2019s high jump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Vishal TK advanced to the men\u2019s 400m final. He clocked 46.05 seconds in the 400m semis. Jay Kumar finished fourth in the 400m semis (46.87 seconds) and missed out on the medal round.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India\u2019s Yoonus Shah advanced to the medal round in the men\u2019s 1500m. Shah finished second in his heat with a time of 3:46.96. Servesh Anil Kushare also advanced to the final in the men\u2019s high jump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> LIVE Cricket Score<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n