Asian Games athletics: Gulveer claims second silver, Sable misses podium

India’s Gulveer Singh won silver in the men’s 1,500m at the Asian Games in Nagoya, clocking a personal best of 3:36.72. Avinash Sable finished fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase, while Yoonus Shah placed ninth in the 1500m final

Nagoya: India’s distance runner Gulveer Singh added another silver medal to his Asian Games haul on Monday, finishing second in the men’s 1500m after his runner-up finish in the 10,000m event.

Gulveer produced a dominant run to clock a personal best of 3:36.72 and finish between two Japanese runners on the podium. Kazuto Iizawa won gold in an Asian Games record time of 3:36.35, finishing 0.37 seconds ahead of Gulveer, while Nagiya Mori took bronze in 3:37.92.

---

Meanwhile, India’s Avinash Sable missed out on a medal in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final after finishing fourth.

Sable clocked a season-best 8:21.67 but finished 4.31 seconds behind gold medallist Ryuji Miura of Japan. Another Japanese runner, Ryoma Aoki, won silver in 8:17.60, while Qatar’s Zakaria Elahlaami took bronze in 8:18.13.

In the 1500m final, Yoonus Shah, who finished third in his heat, also featured in the medal contest. In the overall timings from the heats, Yoonus had clocked 3:45.77, slightly faster than Gulveer’s 3:45.79, with both qualifying for the final.

However, Yoonus, despite staying in a comfortable position for a considerable part of the race, could only finish ninth in 3:43.88.

The 1500m silver is Gulveer’s second medal at the ongoing Asian Games. He had earlier won silver in the 10,000m final, becoming the first Indian to win two Asian Games medals in the men’s 10,000m.

Gulveer clocked 28:29.38 to finish second in the gruelling 25-lap race, adding silver to the bronze he won in the same event at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew won gold in 28:27.51, finishing 1.87 seconds ahead of Gulveer, while his compatriot Albert Kiptoo took bronze in 28:34.38. China’s Wang Wenjie finished fourth in 28:38.14.