Indian athletes delivered an impressive performance on the second day of the Asian U-23 Athletics Championship 2026 held in Ordos, China, securing three bronze medals.
Middle-distance runners Shakeel and Bhumeshwari Devi Huidrom opened India’s medal tally by winning bronze in the 800-meter events, while sprinter Abhay Singh clinched the third bronze in the men’s 200-meter race.
In the men’s 800-meter event, Shakeel clocked a time of 1 minute 48.78 seconds to secure third place. Vinod Kumar from India also competed in the final but finished fourth with a time of 1 minute 49.10 seconds, narrowly missing out on a medal.
In the women’s 800-meter race, Bhumeshwari Devi Huidrom won bronze with a time of 2 minutes 10.20 seconds. India’s second runner, Vaishnavi Rajendra Rawal, finished fifth with a time of 2 minutes 10.83 seconds. Uzbekistan’s Jonbabbi Khukmova won gold with a time of 2 minutes 8.41 seconds, while Japan’s Kurumi Sugure took silver.
In the men’s 200-meter event, Abhay Singh achieved bronze with a time of 20.96 seconds. The youth national record holder had previously served as the guide runner for medalist Simran Sharma at the Paris Paralympics. The gold medal in this event went to China’s Yuwen Huang (20.43 seconds), and Japan’s Kota Uematsu secured silver (20.58 seconds).
In other events, India’s Sharook Khan finished fourth in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:14.14. Additionally, Abhijit Sanjay Bhosale placed fourth in the decathlon with a total of 6610 points.
Earlier, on the first day, the Indian contingent made a strong start by winning gold in the mixed 4×400 meter relay. The team of Aastik Pradhan, Sandramol Sabu, Setu Mishra, and Shravani Sachin Sangale clocked a time of 3:18.64, surpassing teams from China and the Philippines. India also secured medals in the men’s 5000 meters, discus throw, and women’s 3000 meters steeplechase, continuing their strong performance into the second day with three bronze medals.