SportsPosted at: Sep 27 2026 12:59PM


Sreeshankar leads Indian athletics charge as three hurdlers make finals

Aichi-Nagoya, Sep 27 (UNI) Murali Sreeshankar led a strong Indian athletics showing at the Asian Games here on Sunday, qualifying for the men's long jump final alongside David Solomon Patturaj, while three Indian hurdlers also booked their places in the finals.
Sreeshankar, an Asian Games medallist, produced a best effort of 7.84m to finish second in the qualification round, signalling his intent ahead of the medal battle.
Patturaj also cleared the qualification hurdle with a 7.62m effort to finish seventh, ensuring India will have two contenders in the long jump final.
The 400m hurdles produced another encouraging double in the women's event, with Vithya Ramraj and Anu Raghavan both progressing after finishing second in their respective heats.
Vithya clocked a season-best 55.73 seconds, while Anu produced a personal-best 55.84 seconds. They finished third and fourth respectively among the overall qualifiers, setting up another opportunity for India to challenge for the podium.
Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan completed India's strong showing in the hurdles by qualifying for the men's 400m hurdles final. He clocked 49.61 seconds to finish second in his heat.
Compatriot Yashas Palaksha, however, failed to finish his heat.
Meanwhile, Tejaswin Shankar slipped to third after eight events in the decathlon but remains within striking distance of the leaders.
Shankar has accumulated 6,571 points and trails Japan's Yuma Maruyama by 284 points, while China's Chen Xinghua is 138 points ahead of him in second place.
Shankar had earlier led the standings after six events, but the demanding multi-event competition has seen the positions change as the athletes moved through the discus throw and other events.
With multiple Indian athletes now through to finals, the athletics programme has emerged as one of the country's key medal avenues on a busy Day 8.
Sreeshankar's qualification will be closely watched given his continental pedigree, while the presence of Patturaj provides India with a second medal opportunity in the event.
The women's and men's 400m hurdles finals will further add to India's medal prospects as Vithya, Anu and Santhosh seek to convert their impressive qualifying performances into podium finishes.
UNI BDN
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