Siddharth Choudhary dominates shot put arena at Asian U20 Athletics Championship in Yecheon

A dominant performance by Siddharth Choudhary in the men’s shot put gave the Indian contingent something to cheer for on the second day at the Asian U20 Athletics Championship in Yecheon, South Korea on Monday (June 5). The Indian team overall on day two of the continental competition won six medals, including one gold, three silver, and two bronze medals.

Choudhary led the field of nine throwers, including compatriot Jaidev Dikka with an opening throw of 19.02m. The promising Indian thrower continued to improve his throws in the second and third attempts.

His second throw was 19.37m, while his third attempt of 19.52m was a gold-winning throw. His fourth, fifth, and sixth throws were no mark. The 19.52m mark was Choudhary’s season and personal best. His previous best was 19.11m.

“He (Siddharth) is disciplined and hardworking,” said Olympian and national throwing coach Om Prakash Singh Karhana.

Jaidev Dikka, however, had three no marks and was out of contention for the medal race.

Earlier, India opened its day-two account with a silver in men's javelin throw through Shivam Lohakare. The Indian battled with Chao-Hung Huang of Taipei for gold but eventually settled for silver with a throw of 72.34m. Chao-Hung won gold with a throw of 72.85m.

Mohit Chaudhary, another Indian in javelin, finished seventh with a mark of 62.72m. India won their second silver in the men's 3000m steeplechase. Sharuk Khan clocked 8:51.74 seconds to stay in the race for silver.

In the men’s two-lap race, Shakeel won bronze with a season-best time of 1:49.79 secs, while Shyam Milan Bind finished fifth with a time of 1:51.30 secs. Long jumper Susmita clinched third silver for the Indian team. Her best jump was 5.96m.

In the closing stage of day two, Asian U20 400m champion Rezoana Mallick Heena anchored the Indian mixed 4x400m relay to a bronze medal. The team of Deepak Singh, Anushka Dattatray Kumbhar, Navpreet Singh, and Rezoana clocked 3:30.129.

Gold went to Sri Lanka with a time of 3:25.410, while S Korea clinched silver with a time of 3:28.293. In the men's triple jump, Sukhpreet Singh finished fourth. His best jump on Monday was 15.28m.

India’s Sunil Kumar is the lone entrant in decathlon.