- May 29, 2026
Nipam Makes History, Wins 100m Bronze At U20 Asian Athletics Championships
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Nipam wins 100m bronze at U20 Asian Athletics Championships, Dana Noor Salem takes gold, Xinxuan Chen silver, Indian athletes post mixed results in track and field events
Nipam won 100m bronze at Asian U20 Athletics Championships (X)
Nipam capped a memorable international debut by clinching the 100m bronze medal on the opening day of the U20 Asian Athletics Championships here on Thursday.
The 18-year-old national record holder in the U20 women’s 100m was slow out of the blocks but recovered strongly to take bronze in 11.62 seconds.
The sprinter from Uttar Pradesh has a personal best of 11.53 seconds, which is also the national U20 record, set at a domestic meet in April.
“I’m excited to have won a bronze medal for the team,” a jubilant Nipam said.
Can Win More Medals
Nipam is also a member of the national 4x100m relay team and was confident of winning another medal at the four-day continental meet.
Qatar’s 16-year-old Dana Noor Salem made a strong start and went on to win the gold medal in 11.47 seconds. China’s 16-year-old Xinxuan Chen claimed silver with a time of 11.54 seconds.
India’s Vikas Kumar narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the men’s 3,000m with a personal best of 8:24.88.
In the women’s 400m heats, India’s Neeru Pathak won comfortably in 54.42 seconds, while Tahura Khatun finished second in her heat with a time of 55.06 seconds. Both athletes qualified for the final.
However, it was not Mohammed Ashfaq’s day. The Kerala athlete finished fifth in the men’s 400m semi-finals with a time of 47.06 seconds and did not advance to the final.
In the men’s hammer throw, India’s Ashuvendra Pratap Singh (64.34m) and Aman (63.40m) finished seventh and eighth respectively.
India have a strong chance of winning a medal in the decathlon.
Rahul Jakhar was impressive on Day One of the gruelling ten-event competition, which is spread over two days.
In the 100m, Rahul clocked 10.70 seconds to earn 929 points, then collected 760 points with a 6.77m effort in the long jump. He followed this with a best of 13.04m in the shot put for 670 points, and a 1.93m clearance in the high jump that added 740 points to his tally.
In the final event of the day, the 400m, he recorded 50.25 seconds to secure another 803 points.
The four-day 22nd Asian U20 Athletics Championships will conclude on Sunday.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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