Asian Games 2026: Sawan clinches marathon silver; Tajinderpal settles for second spot; Prachi pulls off a surprise

A day that began with the longest competitive distance in athletics, producing one of the most precious medals for India, ended with questions around selections and accountability of absentee athletes that overshadowed the impressive performances of those who did turn up to do their best.

Saturday morning at the Asian Games here saw Sawan Barwal, a man who started running marathons only a year ago, break not only his own National record by an incredible 21 seconds (2:11:37s) but also win India’s first Games silver in the event in 44 years. He had already shattered one of the longest standing records in Indian athletics, Shivnath Singh’s 1978 timing of 2:12:00 by running 2:11:58 in April. More importantly, this is only the fourth Indian medal in the Asian marathon and the first outside India.

It had not been easy for the long-distance runner to switch to road races, but Sawan clearly knew what he was capable of. Staying steady with the leader pack but not going too aggressive, he stayed within striking distance and, for a while, looked like the 28-year-old could go all the way before Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita (2:10:49) edged ahead in the home stretch.

In the evening, Tajinderpal Singh Toor failed to complete his hat-trick of Asian Games gold, settling for silver at the Paloma Mizuho athletics stadium here on Saturday (September 26, 2026) in incessant rain and cold weather that tested every athlete both on the track and field.

Tajinderpal managed the best throw of 20.64 m with a huge effort on his fifth attempt but could not get past Iran Mohammadreza Tayebise, who set a new Games record of 20.81 m, for the top spot. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Tolu, who briefly jumped into second place, finished third (20.48). Karanveer Singh finished a disappointing 10th with 18.40.

Prachi Choudhary was a surprise bronze medallist in women’s 400m (53.21s), but the rest were disappointed.

Karthik Unnikrishnan was sixth in the triple jump (16.02 m), while Kiran Pahal was fifth in the 400 m (53.41 s). Vishal T.K. was placed fifth among the men’s 400m (45.48s), and Parul Chaudhary, despite a personal best of 4:09.46, could only manage fourth in women’s 1500m.

Tejaswin Shankar, meanwhile, was leading the decathlon charts with 4,338 points after five events.

But eyebrows were raised when Jyothi Yarraji, silver medallist in the 100m hurdles last time around, and National record holder triple jumper Praveen Chithravel both pulled out of the competition. The two, along with high jumper Sarvesh Kushare, had submitted medical certificates assuring complete fitness before being cleared at the last minute.