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India's campaign at the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships has not been as expected so far. The first day of the event at Bangkok, saw Indian athletes miss out on two medal opportunities.
The javelin thrower Annu Rani and women's 1500 meters runner Lili Das have not been able to open the medal account of India at the continental event.
Annu Rani finished 4th in javelin throw at Asian Athletics Championships
Annu Rani representing India in women's javelin could only manage a throw of 59.10 meters to finish in fourth position. The gold medal went to Japan's Marina Saito as she threw 61.67 meters. China's Liu Shiying won silver and Sri Lanka took bronze in the event.
It is noteworthy that the 30-year-old athlete was considered a strong prospect for the podium finish as her performance at the previous two editions of the Asian Athletics Championships was quite good. The javelin thrower won silver at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha and bronze at Bhubaneswar in 2017.
Earlier this year, Annu Rani also qualified for the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 and is all set to participate in the mega event scheduled to begin on September 23. The 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist had thrown 59.24 meters this year to confirm her place in the Asiad.
Lili Das finished 7th in women's 1500 meters
Women's 1500 meter was another event in which India missed out on a medal on day one of the Asian Athletics Championships. Lili Das, who represented the country in the final of this track event, finished the race in the seventh position in 4:27.61 seconds. The 25-year-old athlete came nowhere close to her season's best performance of 4:14.16 seconds.
In the competition, Nozomi Tanaka of Japan came first as she finished the race in just 4:06.75 seconds. Meanwhile, the second position went to another Japanese athlete Yume Goto, who took 4:13.25 seconds. The Sri Lankan runner finished third in the race.
So far, the first day has not been fruitful as the medals account of India remains vacant. However, a lot more track and field action is yet to begin and a number of athletes are expected to win medals.
