“He appeared out of nowhere”: Indian runner Afsal shares how he lost gold to Saudi rival in 800m race
Oct 03, 2023
Hangzhou [China], October 3 : Indian runner Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalath, who narrowly missed out on the gold medal in the men's 800m race, opened up about what went wrong in the final seconds of the event.
Afsal had a shot at gold and he fell inches short of finishing on top as Saudi Arabia's Essa Ali Kzwani went past the Indian runner at the photo finish.
Sharing what transpired in the final seconds of the race, Afsal said he was left a bit surprised by how Kzwani pipped him to the finish line in the closing seconds of the race.
"I am happy to have won a silver for my country in my debut Asian Games. I never imagined I would make a podium finish, much less finish second. In life, we can seldom make any predictions. He appeared out of nowhere, I didn't see it coming. He gained on me thereafter and I couldn't close the gap in the end. I am still happy to won a medal for my country," Afsal told ANI.
Afsal clocked 1:48.43s to claim the silver while his Saudi Arabian rival surpassed him by 0.39s as he finished with a timing of 1:48.05s.
The bronze medal was claimed by Oman's Husain Mohsin Husain, who clocked 1:48.51s.
Krishan Kumar was the other Indian participating in the race but was disqualified for jostling/obstruction.
In the women's event, Indian runner Parul Chaudhary etched her name in history, winning a gold in the women’s 5000m.
Returning to the field after bagging a silver medal in the women’s 3000-metre steeplechase on Monday, Parul finished with a timing of 15:14.75 to clinch the gold, becoming the first Indian to win the yellow metal in the women's 5000m event at the Asian Games.
