Servin Sebastian secured India’s first medal at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships by clinching bronze in the men’s 20km race walk event on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old finished with a time of 1:21:13.60, placing behind China’s Wang Zhaozhao (1:20:36.90) and Japan’s Kento Yoshikawa (1:20:44.90) in the tournament’s opening event.
Sebastian’s timing narrowly missed his personal best of 1:21:23, which he set earlier this year while winning gold at the Uttarakhand National Games in February.
Amit, another Indian competitor, finished fifth with a time of 1:22:14.30.
A 59-member strong Indian contingent will aim to finish in the top-2 on the medal tally at the Asian Athletics Championships, scheduled for May 27 to 31 in Gumi, South Korea.
The star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will not be a part of the Indian contingent, but the likes of Avinash Sable, Gulveer Singh, and Parul Chaudhary will be competing for the continental glory.
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The Indian team will face strong competition from the top Asian nations like Japan, China, Bahrain, and Qatar.
The biggest attraction of the event for India will be the men’s javelin throw, where the Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem will be competing against rising star Sachin Yadav.
