Bhubaneswar: A dominant performance enabled Indian athletes to win a gold medal in the mixed 4x400m relay on the opening of the inaugural edition of Asian U23 Athletics Championships 2026 in the Chinese city of Ordos Thursday. Indian athletes also won medals in men’s 5,000m, men’s discus throw and women’s 3,000m steeplechase. The highlight of Day One was the gold medal in the mixed 4x400m relay.
The winning time was 3: 18.64 seconds. China (3:18.74) and Philippines (3:25.28 seconds) were second and third, respectively. The members of the gold medal-winning team were Astik Pradhan, Sandramol Sabu, Setu Mishra and Shravani Sachin Sangle. Indian distance runners Shivaji Parashuram and Vinod Singh also gave a good account of themselves by winning silver and bronze in the men’s 5,000m. Parashuram clocked 14:08.19 seconds while Singh’s bronze-winning time was 14.23.57 seconds. Japan’s Rui Suzuki was the winner of the men’s 5,000m. His time was 14:01.24 Prachi Ankush Devkar finished third in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase. She clocked 10:32.69 seconds.
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