Yecheon – 5 June 2023:
Japanese steeplechaser Asahi Kuroda clocked a noteworthy 8:39.83, which was very close to the championship record (8:33.39) held by Omar Moussa Obaid of Qatar since 2004. In Ipoh, the Qatari duo of Obaid and Mustafa Ahmed Shebto (8:39.66) finished 1-2 in the 3,000m steeplechase, a time no other athlete reached as closer as Kuroda did today in the Asian U20 championships.
Kuroda throw much anticipation and was favourite to win his event here as he posted a much faster 8:37.25 while finishing ninth in the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Yokohama just a fortnight ago. He was also a finalist in the World U20 championships at Cali last year. However, he lacks competition in Yecheon as there is no one of his calibre trying to push him and he had to run the race on his own.
Iranian Yusef Azariyan, the Asian U18 champion from Tashkent, turned out to be a non-starter it was India’s Sharuk Khan (16) tried to challenge Kuroda today. Khan, who recently won the Indian Federation Cup for Juniors in a modest 9:05.42, finds it difficult to keep pace with the leader as the Japanese runner has to his credit more sub-9 minutes timing which none of his compatriots achieved. Running with Kuroda, however, helped the Indian rapidly as he returned 8:51.75 to garner the silver medal at the end. It was indeed India’s second medal in the steeplechase in the continental meet after Arun D’Souza won the bronze medal way back in 1997.
Tharushi clinches two gold medals:
Sri Lanka’s Tharushi Dilsara Karunaratna romped home the gold medal in 800m with a modest 2:05.64. Her winning time was slower than her country-mate Dilshi Shyamali achieved to gain a bronze medal five years ago. Having clocked a much superior 2:01.39 back at home this March, Tharshi was expected to better the meet mark of 2:02.66 standing in the name of Lang Yinglai (China) since 1997. However, the 26-year-old mark survived for another edition of this biennial meet.
Later in the evening, Tharushi anchored her country’s 4 x 400m mixed relay quartet comprising Oshada Vinod Ariyawansa, Jayeshi Uththara and Hasantha Shehan Dilranga to victory. The above event introduced first time in these championships, witnessed the Sri Lankan quartet posting a new national mark of 3:25.41 for the gold. It was Tharushi’s third medal in Yecheon as she won a silver medal in the 400m on the opening day.
Japan’s Kuroki Kaito (10.37 secs) and China’s Xiong Shiqi (11.62s) wrested the fastest man and woman titles by winning the 100m dash in their respective categories.
Chinese Taipei won its first gold in the meet through javelin thrower Huang Chao-Hung. He nailed the spear at 72.85m as Shivam Lohakare of India got the silver at 72.34m.
India won its lone gold of the day courtesy of shot putter Siddharth Choudhary. He opened with 19.02m and improved it to 19.37m in his second round. He then unleashed a better 19.52m in the third round to seal the title. Qatar’s Djibrine Adoum D Ahmat was a distant second in 18.85m, ahead of the host’s Park Si-Hoon (18.70).
Ram. Murali Krishnan for Asian Athletics
