India win five athletics medals on Day 4 as Parul breaks national steeplechase mark at Asian Games 2026

On Sunday, Day 4 of the athletics programme at the 2026 Asian Games, India added five medals to its athletics haul. The day produced two silver medals and three bronzes for the Indian contingent.

The five medals came from Ancy Sojan Edappilly and Sarvesh Kushare (silver), and Tejaswin Shankar, Harita Bhadra and Parul Chaudhary (bronze). India’s athletics tally after Day 4 stood at 13 medals — six silver and seven bronze, and the country’s overall count at the Games was 37 medals (4 Gold, 16 Silver, 17 Bronze).

In the women’s long jump, Ancy Sojan Edappilly took silver with a best leap of 6.53m. China’s Huang Yingying claimed gold with 6.55m on her last attempt, Tan Mengyi won bronze with 6.46m, and Shaili Singh finished fourth with 6.42m.

Sarvesh Kushare secured silver in the men’s high jump by clearing 2.25m. Chinese Taipei’s Fu Chao won gold on countback after also clearing 2.25m, South Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok earned bronze with 2.22m, and India’s Aadarsh Ram placed 13th with 2.05m.

The decathlon podium saw Tejaswin Shankar finish third with 7,934 points, Japan’s Yuma Maruyama take gold with 8,123 points and China’s Chen Xinghua claim silver with 8,012. Tejaswin ran the final 1500m in 4:33.09, while Thowfeeq Noushad did not complete the competition.

The women’s 3000m steeplechase produced a national record as Parul Chaudhary took bronze, setting a personal best and new Indian record of 9:08.67. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won gold in a Games Record of 9:04.36 and Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto Tanui took silver in 9:06.82; India’s Ankita logged a personal best of 9:19.24 to finish fourth. In the women’s 200m, Harita Bhadra earned bronze in a personal best of 23.20 seconds, with Singapore’s Shanti Pereira winning gold in 22.78 and China’s Chen Yujie second in 22.93; Unnathi Bolland was sixth in 23.46.

Several Indian athletes progressed to finals or posted notable finishes across other events. Murali Sreeshankar (7.84m) advanced to the men’s long jump final as second in Group B, while David Solomon Patturaj qualified from Group A with 7.62m. Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan reached the men’s 400m hurdles final after a 49.61-second second-place heat, Yashas Palaksha did not finish his heat, and Vithya Ramraj progressed to the women’s 400m hurdles final in 55.73 seconds. In sprint and hurdle finals, Animesh Kujur was fifth in the men’s 200m in 20.80 seconds as Thailand’s Puripol Boonson claimed gold in an Asian Record 19.88; China’s Huang Yongyu and Japan’s Shusei Mizukubo took silver and bronze. Nandhini Kongan finished sixth in the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.45 seconds, with Japan’s Maho Fukube and Hitomi Nakajima winning gold and silver in 12.74 and 12.78 respectively.

India’s middle-distance and relay performances included Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath advancing from the men’s 800m heats in 1:47.37 and Krishan Kumar also progressing from his heat in 1:50.38. The Indian women’s 4x100m relay qualified for the final with a season-best 43.65 seconds, finishing level on time with Japan as both teams progressed. In the marathon race walk, Manju Rani was sixth in 3:40:17, while Priyanka Goswami was disqualified under technical rule TR54.7.5.

India’s programme on Day 5 features multiple athletes in medal events: Murali Sreeshankar and David Solomon Patturaj contest the men’s long jump final; Avinash Sable competes in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final; Gulveer Singh and Yoonus Shah run in the men’s 1500m final; Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh appear in the men’s javelin throw final. On the women’s side, Anu Raghavan and Vithya Ramraj will compete in the 400m hurdles final, Seema Kaliramna and Sanya Yadav in the discus final, Parul Chaudhary and Seema in the 5000m final, Pooja and Gowthami Jayaraman start in the women’s 800m heats, and India fields teams in the mixed 4x100m and men’s 4x400m heats while the women’s 4x100m team return for the final.