Hong Kong, May 30: At the 22nd Asian U-20 Athletics Championship held in Hong Kong, Indian athletes added three more gold medals to their tally on Saturday. Nikhil Chandrashekhar won gold in the men’s 3,000 meters steeplechase, while Basant secured gold in high jump, and Shah Nawaz Khan excelled in long jump. Previously, India had claimed four gold medals on Friday.
Nikhil Chandrashekhar clocked an impressive time of 9:25.44 seconds to finish first in the men’s 3,000 meters steeplechase, marking his personal best performance.
Shah Nawaz Khan showcased his dominance in the men’s long jump, adding another gold with his best leap of 7.84 meters. His compatriot Jithin Arjunan Raman Chandrasekharan won silver with a jump of 7.66 meters. India’s third gold on Saturday came from Basant, who cleared a height of 2.20 meters in the men’s high jump.
Aarti contributed to the medal tally by clinching a bronze medal. She finished third in the women’s 200 meters with a time of 24.12 seconds, also her best performance to date. Bhoomika Sanjay Nehate narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth with a time of 24.13 seconds. In the women’s javelin throw, India’s Poonam finished eighth with a throw of 46.55 meters.
China leads the medal tally with 10 gold medals, while India currently stands second with 7 golds.
Earlier on Friday, during the second day of the championship, Indian high jumper Pooja set a new national and meet record. She won gold by clearing a height of 1.93 meters, breaking the decade-old national record of 1.92 meters set by Sahana Kumari in 2012. Pooja’s performance also surpassed the previous Asian U-20 meet record of 1.90 meters established by Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Radzhivil in 2006.
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