Sawan Barwal Shines at National Athletics Championship, Qualifies for Asian Games
Sawan Barwal's Victory and Qualification
Sawan Barwal from the Army fulfilled his pre-race expectations by clinching the gold medal in the men's 10,000 meters at the 28th National Federation Senior Athletics Championship held at Maharaja’s College Stadium in Kochi. His impressive finish time of 28:57.13 not only secured him the top spot but also met the qualification criteria set by the Athletics Federation of India for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships scheduled for May 27-31 in Gumi, South Korea.
Barwal's performance surpassed the previous meet record of 28:57.90, established by Surendra Singh in 2007. "I am thrilled to have achieved a gold medal with a new meet record and to qualify for the Asian Championships," Barwal expressed.
Despite his victory, Barwal acknowledged that he could have pushed himself further during the race, especially after taking a significant lead with five laps remaining. "I could have performed better, but there was no one to challenge me," he admitted.
The silver medal was claimed by Abhishek Pal from Railways, who finished with a time of 29:14.86, also qualifying for the Gumi event. Kiran Matre of the Army secured the bronze with a time of 29:47.62.
In the women's 10,000 meters, Maharashtra's Sanjivani Jadhav took home the gold with a time of 33:44.43, although she fell short of the Asian qualification standard of 33:24.79. Seema from Himachal Pradesh earned the silver medal with a time of 34:55.92, while Uttar Pradesh's Beby finished third at 34:59.67.
In the men's javelin throw, Sachin Yadav dominated the competition with an impressive throw of 83.67 meters.
The men's 100 meters race was filled with excitement as Railways' Pranav Pramod edged out Odisha's Animesh Kujur to win gold, clocking in at 10.27 seconds, just ahead of Kujur's 10.32 seconds. Army's Manikanta Hoblidhar secured third place with a time of 10.35 seconds, while Punjab's Gurindervir Singh, representing Reliance, finished last.