May 27, 2025: India kicked off its campaign at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi with a strong start, as Gulveer Singh clinched gold in the men’s 10,000m, while Servin Sebastian added a bronze in the men’s 20km race walk.
Gulveer, who already holds the national records in 3000m, 5000m, and 10,000m, finished first with a timing of 28:38.63. He beat Japan’s Mebuki Suzuki (28:43.84) and Bahrain’s Albert Kibichi Rop (28:46.82) to the top of the podium. Fellow Indian runner Sawan Barwal narrowly missed a medal, finishing fourth at 28:50.53. Gulveer is also set to compete in the 5000m, a category in which he won bronze at the 2023 edition.
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Earlier, Servin Sebastian earned a hard-fought bronze in the 20km race walk with a personal best of 1:21:14. He finished behind China’s Wang Zhaozhao (1:20:37) and Japan’s Kento Yoshikawa (1:20:46). Fellow Indian Amit Khatri secured fifth place with 1:22:15.
In the women’s javelin throw, Asian Games champion Annu Rani missed out on a podium finish, placing fourth with a best throw of 58.30m. China’s Su Lingdan won gold with a personal best of 63.92m, followed by Japan’s Sae Takemoto (58.94m) and Momone Ueda (58.60m). Annu still holds the Indian national record with a personal best of 63.82m.
In other performances, Yoonus Shah qualified for the men’s 1500m final, finishing second in his heat with a time of 3:46.96. Sarvesh Anil Kushare advanced to the men’s high jump final with a 2.10m clearance, while Vishal TK entered the 400m final, clocking a personal best of 46.05s in the semifinals. Jay Kumar was eliminated in the same round.
On the women’s side, Paris 2024 Olympian Vithya Ramraj and Rupal Chaudhary progressed to the semifinals in the 400m event, continuing India’s promising start to the championship.