38th National Games 2025 Sawan Barwal Qualifies for Asian Athletics Championships with Record-Breaking Run
10 Feb 2025
Long-distance runner Sawan Barwal secured a spot in the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships by winning the men’s 10,000m race at the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand on Saturday. Barwal set a new meet record with a time of 28:49.93, easily surpassing the Asian Championships qualification mark of 29:33.26.
The Asian Athletics Championships 2025 will take place in Gumi, South Korea, from May 27 to 31. The previous edition was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2023.
Kiran Matre, who finished second with a time of 29:04.76, also met the qualification standard. Vinod Singh took bronze with a time of 29:43.60.
Barwal’s gold medal performance also improved his personal best of 28:51.88, set in London in May 2024. However, he fell short of Gulveer Singh’s national record of 27:14.88.
In other events, Odisha’s Animesh Kujur won gold in the men’s 100m, equalling the National Games record with a time of 10.28. Maharashtra’s Pranav Gurav (10.32) and Assam’s Amlan Borgohain (10.43) secured silver and bronze, respectively.
The National Games 2025, which began on January 28, will conclude on February 14