SportsPosted at: Sep 26 2026 5:35PM


Asian Games: Sawan Barwal’s silver ends India’s 44-year wait for marathon medal

New Delhi, Sep 26 (UNI) Sawan Barwal ended India’s 44-year wait for a men’s marathon medal at the Asian Games on Saturday, winning silver in Nagoya in a national-record time of 2:11:37. The 28-year-old Army runner finished behind Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita, who won gold in 2:10:49, while China’s Peiyou Feng took bronze in 2:12:13.
Barwal’s silver was India’s first medal in the men’s marathon since Hosur Kukkappa Seetharan won bronze at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. India’s only other marathon medals came at the inaugural Asian Games in 1951, also in New Delhi, where Chota Singh won gold and Surat Singh Matur took bronze.
Born in a village near the Baijnath Shiva temple in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra Valley, Barwal grew up in high-altitude surroundings. Training at altitude was part of his life even before he took up athletics seriously.
For Barwal, the medal capped a remarkable rise that has seen him break the national record twice in his first two marathons. He made his marathon debut in Rotterdam in April, clocking 2:11:58 to erase Shivnath Singh’s 48-year-old national record of 2:12:00. Six months later, he improved his own mark by another 21 seconds in Nagoya.
His preparation for the Asian Games began soon after the Rotterdam breakthrough. Barwal trained at altitude in Ooty before moving to Colorado Springs in the USA, where he spent two months preparing for the Asian Games.
The stint in the USA allowed him to train with experienced coaches and sharpen his preparation for the demands of a marathon.
A major part of that preparation was focused on the closing stages of the race. Senior runners had told Barwal that a marathon truly begins after 35km, and his training was built around being able to maintain his pace when fatigue sets in.
He regularly completed 40km or 42km long runs, often at a pace 10 to 20 seconds slower than his target marathon pace. His weekly workload was around 200km, with three hard sessions, including speed work, tempo running and a long run, while even some easier days involved 20-25km runs.
That preparation paid off in Nagoya. Barwal moved to the front around the 10km mark and remained among the leaders until the 35km point. Yamashita then made his move and gradually opened a gap, but Barwal held his pace to secure silver.
The Indian covered the final 7.145km in 22 minutes and 13 seconds to finish comfortably ahead of Feng, who had arrived in Nagoya as the Asian leader for the season after running 2:05:58.Feng could not reproduce that form and had to settle for bronze, while India’s other runner, Kartik Karkera, finished 17th among the 19 competitors.UNI TB AAB
Tags: #Asian Games: Sawan Barwal’s silver ends India’s 44-year wait for marathon medal
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