Asian Athletics Championships 2025: India Defends 4x400m Mixed Relay Title, Wins 6 Medals on Day 2 in Gumi

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Asian Athletics Championships 2025: In a thunderous encore of brilliance and belief, India successfully defended their 4x400m mixed relay title at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships on Wednesday, thanks to a fierce finishing leg by the ever-reliable Subha Venkatesan.

Clocking 3:18.12, the Indian quartet—Santhosh KT, Rupal Chaudhary, Vishal TK, and Subha—stormed to gold on the second day of the continental competition, under gloomy skies and fierce pressure. India held off stiff competition from Kazakhstan (3:22.70) and hosts South Korea (3:22.87) to underline their dominance in the mixed relay event.

Vishal’s Double Duty, Rupal’s Raw Grit

Vishal TK, who had narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s 400m final with a personal best 45.57 seconds, returned to line up for the relay—this time, not for personal glory, but for national pride.

“It was challenging to compete in back-to-back individual 400m and relay leg (4x400m mixed). But good preparation enabled me to handle the situation,” said Vishal after the race.

Rupal Chaudhary, too, had finished second in the women’s 400m final earlier with 52.68 seconds, but found a second wind in the relay. The young sprinter powered through the third leg, setting up Subha to seal the victory.

Subha Venkatesan, 25, maintained India’s rhythm with an authoritative final stretch, proving why she remains India’s most dependable relay specialist.

Shankar’s Silver Lining in Decathlon

Tejaswin Shankar was India’s iron man of the day. Battling across 10 gruelling events over two days, Shankar finished with 7618 points, narrowly missing gold to China’s Fei Xiang (7634).

“At the end of the day what matters is a medal at the continental level,” Shankar said. “That was my goal, not just enhancing the score.”

Chithravel's Leap Meets Rainy Reality

In the men's triple jump, national record holder Praveen Chithravel took silver with a best leap of 16.90m, just behind China’s Zhu Yaming (17.06m).

“The local weather conditions were good at the start but then it started raining and became challenging to keep the body warmed up,” said Chithravel.

Abdulla Aboobacker narrowly missed out with a fourth-place finish (16.72m).

Milers Shine Bright: Pooja and Yoonus Step Up

Pooja clinched silver in the women’s 1500m with 4:10.83, narrowly behind China’s Li Chunhul (4:10.58). Lili Das finished fourth with 4:13.81.

In the men's 1500m, Yoonus Shah clocked 3:43.03 to claim bronze. Japan’s Kazuto Lizawa took gold in 3:42.56.

Weather Plays Spoilsport

Gumi’s skies unleashed heavy rain that forced the women’s 10,000m race to be halted midway. The event has been rescheduled for Thursday morning.

Day Two Medal Haul: A Mixed Bag of Glory and Near Misses

India’s second day in Gumi brought in a gold, three silvers, and two bronzes, along with a couple of close fourth-place finishes.

Live Medal Tally after Day 2

• Gold – 1
• Silver – 4
• Bronze – 1

India’s blend of experience and youthful exuberance was on full display, none more so than in the 4x400m mixed relay—a race that once again proved that when it comes to heart and hustle, Team India runs the extra mile.