Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: India ended its campaign at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships with five medals and one gold, finishing sixth overall in the medal standings. Tejaswin Shankar delivered the standout performance for India by winning the men’s heptathlon gold, which was the country’s only gold medal at the event.Shankar scored 5993 points to win the heptathlon, breaking his own national indoor record of 5650 points set in 2021. He led from the first day and maintained his dominance across all seven events. On the final day, he clocked 8.02 seconds in the 60m hurdles, earning 977 points. He then cleared 4.20 metres in the pole vault, adding 673 points, before finishing strong in the 1000m race with a time of 2:43.91, which took his total score to 5993. Shankar is already India’s national record holder in the outdoor decathlon and won silver at the 2023 Asian Games, further proving his status as one of India’s top multi-event athletes.India’s other medal winners also impressed. Pooja won silver in women’s high jump with a clearance of 1.87 metres. Tajinderpal Singh Toor secured silver in men’s shot put with a season-best throw of 20.05 metres, narrowly missing gold. Ancy Sojan claimed bronze in women’s long jump with a best effort of 6.21 metres. Earlier in the competition, Aadrash Ram Jothi Shankar had won a bronze in high jump.China dominated the championships with 34 medals, including 10 golds, finishing comfortably on top of the table. Despite missing out on more golds, India’s athletes delivered strong performances, with several personal and season-best marks, highlighting the country’s growing strength in athletics on the Asian stage.
