India’s Akshdeep Singh took the gold medal while Priyanka Goswami took bronze in the men’s and women’s categories respectively at the 2023 Asian 20km Race Walking Championships held in Nomi, Japan on Sunday. Of the other Indian athletes, Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Bisht clocked 1:20:05 and 1:20:08 respectively in the men’s open category, breaking the 1:20:10 mark – the qualifying standards for both the 2023 World Championships and Olympic Games. Games Paris 2024.
At the National Championships earlier this month, Akshdeep Singh and Priyanka Goswami had already qualified for the World Championships and the Paris Olympics.
National record holder Akshdeep Singh won the men’s 20 km foot race with a time of 1:20:57. After Olympian Gurmeet Singh in 2016, the athlete from Punjab won India’s second gold medal.
South Korea’s Choe Byeongkwang finished second with a time of 1:21:20, while China’s Wen Yongjie took bronze with a time of 1:22:44.
Meanwhile, 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist Priyanka Goswami finished third in the women’s event in 1:32:27. China’s Lan Gao won gold with a time of 1:29:25. Ayane Yanai from Japan finished second in 1:0:58 ahead of the Indian athlete.
With these medals, India’s total tally at the championships rose to nine (two gold, two silver and five bronze).
Suraj Panwar and Hardeep Singh of India finished the men’s race in 1:22:31 and 1:25:38 respectively. In the women’s event, Tokyo Olympian Bhawana Jat finished in 1:36:20, while her compatriot Munita Prajapati finished in 1:33:22. Sonal Sukhwal did not start.
The 2023 Asian 20km Race Walking Championship featured nine Indian athletes, five men and four women.
The 15th edition of the race, an annual running competition for athletes representing countries from Asia, was held after a three-year hiatus following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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