Sachin Yadav holds his own against Olympic champion Nadeem for a silver

The name Sachin Yadav would not have even struck a bell if Neeraj Chopra had been available for the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea on Saturday. However, the unheralded javelin thrower from Uttar Pradesh was undeterred by the presence of Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan – as a personal best heave of 85.16 metres landed him a hugely creditable silver on the last day of the continental showpiece.

Nadeem, competing for the first time since the giant throw at Paris Olympics, clinched the top spot in Gumi with a season-best effort of 86.40 m.    

A six-medal sweep on the final day - three silver and bronze each helped India end with 24 medals (eight gold, 10 silver and six bronze) to finish second in the medal table behind China’s tally of 26 (15 golds, eight silvers and three bronze).

It did not match India’s biggest haul of 27 medals (nine gold, six silver and 12 bronze) in the event, which came at Bhubaneswar in 2017, but there were several positive takeaways in the year of World Chmapionships in Tokyo in August. In terms of gold medals, Jakarta 1985 was India’s most successful campaign with 10 gold, five silver and seven bronze.

 Sachin, who stands at six feet and five inches tall, came under spotlight when he clinched title at the Federation Cup with an 83.86m effort. Hailing from a farmer’s family in Khekra village near Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, he improved upon his previous personal best of 84.39m set at the National Games earlier this year for a golden finish. Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama claimed bronze with a personal best of 83.75m while India’s Yashvir Singh finished fifth with a personal best of 82.57m.

 The other headline grabber for India on final day was sprinter Animesh Kujur, who became only the second Indian ever to make the 200m podium since 2015, matching Dharambir Singh’s 2015 feat. Animesh clocked 20.32 seconds, a national record for bronze – an improvement on his own pervious national mark of 20.40s during the Federation Cup.

 Olympian Parul Chaudhary, meanwhile, maintained her reputation by bagging silver in the women’s 5000m, her second silver of the meet. She clocked 15:15.33s, following Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto Tanui, who coasted to gold in 14:58.71s. Japan’s Yuma Yamamoto (15:16.86) completed the podium.

In the women’s 400m hurdles, India’s Vithya Ramraj secured bronze with a time of 56.46s. Their hopes in the women’s 200m final were dashed as Jyothi Yarraji (23.47) and Nithya Gandhe (23.90) finished fifth and seventh, respectively.

 Later in the day, Pooja claimed bronze in the women’s 800m, setting a personal best of 2:01.89s. The men’s 800m saw India’s Anu Kumar (1:48.72) and Krishan Kumar (1:58.04) finish seventh and eighth, respectively.

 There was a late silver lining as well when India concluded the competition with a silver in the women’s 4x100m relay final. The quartet of Srabani Nanda, Abhinaya Rajarajan, Sneha SS and Nithya Gandhe clocked 43.86 behind China, who completed the relay in 43.28. Thailand won bronze in 44.26.