Aichi-Nagoya, 26 September (H.S.): India’s Sawan Barwal produced a remarkable performance at the 2026 Asian Games, winning the silver medal in the men’s marathon.

Sawan clocked 2 hours, 11 minutes and 37 seconds to finish second and set a new national record.

Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita won the gold medal with a time of 2:10:49. Sawan’s time of 2:11:37 marked a new national record, improving by 21 seconds on the previous national record he had set in April this year.

With this medal, Sawan became only the fourth Indian male athlete in history to win a medal in the men’s marathon at the Asian Games.

Before him, Chhota Singh won the gold medal at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, while Surat Mathur won bronze at the same Games. H. K. Sitaram also won a bronze medal at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi.

The other Indian competitor in the event, Kartik Karkera, finished 17th with a time of 2:22:41.

With Sawan’s silver medal, India’s medal tally at the 2026 Asian Games has risen to 24. India has so far won two gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar