Seema ends India’s 16-yr wait with bronze

Nagoya: India’s ace athlete Seema Kumari ended a 16-year wait for a medal in the women’s 10,000m at the Asian Games after securing bronze in the final at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Thursday.

Seema clocked 32:50.05 to finish third behind Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, who won gold in 32:39.18, and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka, who claimed silver in 32:41.54. Seema finished 10.87 seconds behind Yavi, while Kazakhstan’s Daisy Jepkemei was fourth in 33:03.21, more than 13 seconds behind the Indian.

Her bronze also made Seema only the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the 10,000m. Preeja Sreedharan won gold in 2010, while Kavita Raut claimed silver at the same edition.

Born on January 10, 2001, in Himachal Pradesh, Seema has established herself as one of India’s leading distance runners, with the 5,000m and 10,000m as her main events. Earlier, India’s Animesh Kujur and national record holder Gurindervir Singh advanced to the men’s 100m semi-finals. Kujur finished third in Heat 1 in 10.36 seconds, while Gurindervir was second in Heat 4 in 10.38 seconds. The top three from each heat qualified automatically, with both Indians securing their places comfortably. The men’s 100m semi-finals are scheduled for Friday.

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The Hans India