“I would like to dedicate my upgraded gold medal of 4×400 mixed relay event of Asian Games 2018 to police, doctors and all other coronawarriors who are working selflessly in these difficult times of COVID-19 to ensure our safety and good health. Respect for all corona warriors,” Das said in a tweet.
On Thursday, the silver medal that the Indian 4×400 mixed relay quartet of Mohammed Anas, M.R. Poovamma, Das and Arokia Rajiv had won in Jakarta was upgraded to gold. This happened after the Bahrain squad, which finished first in the final, was disqualified with Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain being handed a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for failing a dope test.
India’s initial tally of 69 medals at the 2018 Asian Games has thus now improved to 70. The new breakdown of medals for India is now 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze.