On the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok (Thailand), the 25-year-old Abhishek Pal opened India’s medal tally with a bronze medal in men’s 10,000m.
In the men’s 10,000m Final on Wednesday (12 July), Japan celebrated with the gold medal after Ren Tazawa took 29:18.44s to finish the race. Koech Kimutai Shadrack of Kazakhstan clocked 29:31.63s to win the silver medal.
Indian medalist Abhishek Pal secured the bronze after clocking the race at 29:33.26s to finish in the third position. The 25-year-old Gulveer Singh was the other Indian in that race, who finished in the fifth spot (29:53.69). Both these Indians will also participate in the men’s 5,000m on the last day of this competition (Sunday, 16 July 2023).
Who is Abhishek Pal?
Four years ago, during the Asian Athletics Championships 2019 in Doha (Qatar), Pal finished in seventh place in the men’s 10,000m (29:51.28). He was also fifth in the men’s 5000m (13:56.09) at the same Championships.
Pal, a bright athlete from Uttar Pradesh, won the gold medal during the men’s 10000m run (29:55.51) in the National Athletics Championships 2022 (61st National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships 2022).
Asian Athletics Championships 2023: Annu Rani closely missed out on a podium finish
Meanwhile, Indian Annu Rani finished fourth in the women’s javelin throw after managing a distance of 59.10m. She won a bronze medal in the 2017 edition and a silver medal in the 2019 edition of the Asian Athletics Championships.
In the ongoing Championships, Japan's Marina Saito won the gold (61.67m), while China’s Liu Shiying (61.51m) and Sri Lankan Nadeesha Dilhani (60.93) celebrated with silver and bronze medals respectively in the women’s javelin throw.
