Asian U20 Athletics Championships: Shahnavaz Khan dominates men's long jump, India's gold medal tally goes up to 7
New Delhi, May 31
Indian athletes added three more gold medals to their tally on the penultimate day of the 22nd Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Nikhil Chandrashekar (3000m steeplechase), Basant (high jump) and Shahnavaz Khan (long jump) took the Indian gold medal tally to seven. India won four gold medals on Friday.
Nikhil Chandrashekar sprinted home to victory in the men's 3000m steeplechase. His winning time of 9:25.44 seconds was a personal best, according to an AFI press release.
Shahnavaz Khan added a second gold medal as he dominated the men's long jump. His best jump of the day was 7.84m. Compatriot Jithin Arjunan Raman Chandrasekaran won silver with a jump of 7.66m.
India's third gold on Saturday came through Basant in the men's high jump. He cleared 2.20m.
Aarti added bronze to the medal tally. She finished third in the women's 200m with a time of 24.12 seconds, a personal best. Bhumika Sanjay Nehate finished a close fourth with a time of 24.13 secs.
In the women's javelin throw, India's Poonam finished eighth with a throw of 46.55m.
China is leading the medal tally with ten gold medals. India, with seven golds, is second on the table.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Basant clearing 2.20m in high jump at this age - that's a serious talent. Hope AFI doesn't let him waste his potential like so many others. We need more international exposure for these kids, not just domestic meets. Good to see our athletes shining abroad!
Great to see Indian athletics on the rise. Nikhil's personal best of 9:25 in steeplechase is impressive. Also, Aarti and Bhumika finishing 3rd and 4th in women's 200m with personal bests shows we're building real depth. Keep it up, Team India! 🌟
China leading with 10 golds is expected, but India at 2nd with 7 golds is a great achievement! 😊 The real test will be how many of these juniors transition to senior level success. Let's hope our sports administrators don't let them down like in the past.
So proud of our young athletes! Jithin Arjunan Raman Chandrasekaran getting silver alongside Shahnavaz Khan's gold in long jump shows we have two bright prospects. Bhumika missing bronze by just 0.01 seconds... so close! AFI needs to send these kids to more foreign competitions. Yaar, if we can support them properly, sky's the limit! 🇮🇳
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