Asian Games 2018: Arpinder Singh ends 48-year wait in triple jump with gold; 2nd silver for Dutee

Jakarta, August 29: Arpinder Singh ended India's long wait of 48 years for a second gold medal in men's triple jump as he secured the top prize at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta on Wednesday (August 29). India's last Asian Games gold in the event came in 1970 from Mohinder Singh Gill.

Arpinder's jump of 16.77m, coming in his third attempt, was unbroken on the day, sealing the 10th gold for India at the Asian Games. The other Indian in the fray, Rakesh Babu, finished sixth with a best jump of 16.40.

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Ruslan Kurbanov of Uzbekistan took the silver with his personal best of 16.62m, while China's Cao Shuo, the 2014 Incheon gold medallist, had to settle for bronze after a below-par best effort of 16.56. Shuo's winning effort four years ago was 17.30m, way below the mark set here in Jakarta.

GOLD number 4✌️✌️from #TeamIndiaAthletics at #AsianGames2018 #EnergyofAsia presented to you by @ArpinderSingh18 Arpinder Singh of #India- 16.77m #India wins a men's Triple Jump GOLD medal after 48 years, In 1970, Mohinder Singh Gill won a Gold-16.11m@Ra_THORe @IndiaSports pic.twitter.com/qLrQriRLbf

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 29, 2018

Even Arpinder's effort was well below his season best of 17.09m, which came during the National Inter-State Championships in June, a result that placed him third in the Asian rankings. Arpinder has a personal best of 17.17m and has previously returned with a bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Medals for Indian men in triple jump in #AsianGames
1958: Mohinder Singh #GOLD
1966: Labh Singh #BRONZE
1970: Mohinder Singh Gill #GOLD, Labh Singh #SILVER
1974: Mohinder Singh Gill #SILVER
1982: S Balasubramaniam #BRONZE
2018: Arpinder Singh #GOLD#AsianGames2018

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 29, 2018

Nevertheless, it was a time to rejoice for India in track and field as Dutee Chand claimed a silver in the women's 200m.

Dutee, along with the 100m silver she had won earlier, joined an elite list of Indian athletes like PT Usha to have won more than one medal at the Asian Games. She crossed the finishing line in 23.20 seconds, behind Bahrain's Edidiong Odiong, who clinched the gold in 22.96. The bronze went to China's Wei Yongli (23.27).

SILVER in women’s 200m race goes to Dutee Chand!
With a timing of 23.20s, she was terrific!
Many congratulations to @DuteeChand, an ex-trainee of #SAI COE,#Patiala on her 2nd medal in #AsianGames2018!🥈#IndiaAtAsianGames @afiindia #Athletics #ProudIndia @iaaforg #KheloIndia🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/lFhrRPSLSF

— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) August 29, 2018

It has been an outstanding show by the 22-year-old Odisha sprinter who was not allowed to compete in 2014-15 under the IAAF's hyperandrogenism policy due to which she missed the 2014 Commonwealth and Asian Games. She fought and won a case against this policy at the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

In a recent revision of the hyperandrogenism policy of the IAAF, Dutee has been left out of its purview.

Legendary Usha had swept four gold medals at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, winning 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay. Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, (800m 1500m) had also won two medals at the at 1998 Bangkok Games. Sunita Rani (1500m, 5000m) also returned with two medals from the 2002 Busan Games.

(With PTI inputs)