Gumi (South Korea), May 29 (IANS) The women’s 4×40 team ended a 12-year drought to win gold while hurdler Jyothi Yarraji and steeplechaser Avinash Sable set new records on their way to the top of the podium on a golden day for India in the ongoing 26th Asian Athletics Championships in the South Korean city of Gumi here on Thursday.

The action on the third day of the competition was delayed by heavy rain, but the delay didn’t dampen the spirits of the Indian athletes as they won three gold medals on the trot.

Avinash Sable set the ball rolling by winning the men’s 3000m steeplechase, followed by Jyoti Yarraji in the women’s 100m hurdles. The third gold of the evening came in the women’s 4x400m relay. The men’s 4x400m relay team had to settle for silver.

In a tactical men’s 3,000m steeplechase, Sable, 30, surged ahead in the last lap to win gold with a time of 8:20.92 seconds. It was his season’s best. Sable has nicely warmed up with back-to-back Diamond League events in China, and the Asian meet was his third competition of the season in preparation for the Tokyo World Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held in Japan from September 13 to 21.

“I was confident of winning gold as I was best in the field,” Sable said in a post-race interaction. Sable has already qualified for the Worlds.

Jyothi made the most of the situation in the 100m hurdles. She brilliantly sailed over the last two hurdles to surge ahead of her rivals and crossed the finish line in a new continental record of 12.96 seconds.

On her way to gold, Jyothi improved long long-standing continental record of 12.97 set in 1998 in Fukuoka, Japan by Yun Feng. The time of 12.96 seconds was Jyothi’s season best. “It was a good day. I’m happy to break the 13-second barrier this season,” she said after winning the gold medal.

It was another good day in the office for Suba Venkatesan as she anchored the women’s 4x400m relay team to gold.

The Indian quartet finished first in the men’s 4x400m heat in the morning session with a time of 3:06.28. The national team further improved their time to 3:03.67 but had to settle for silver.

At the jumping pit, Ancy Sojan won silver and Shaili Singh bronze. Sarvesh Anil Kushare, however, wasn’t able to win a medal in the men’s high jump.

Indian Results (day 3):

Men:

3000m steeplechase: Avinash Sable (India) 8:20.92, Yutaro Niinae (Japan) 8:24.41, Zakaria Elahlaami (Qatar) 8:27.12

Shot put: Mohammadreza Tayebiseifkoti (Iran) 20.32m, Xing Jailiang (China) 19.97m, Mohammed D. Tolu (Saudi Arabia) 19.92m. Samardeep Singh Gill (India) 6th 19.25m

4x400m Relay: India silver (Jay Kumar, Dharamveer Choudhary, Manu TS, Vishal TK) 3:03.67.

Women:

10,000m: Daisy Jepkemei (Kaz) 30:48.44, Ririka Hironaka (Japan) 30:56.32, Mikuni Yada (Japan) 31:12.21, Sanjivani Jadhav (India 5th) 33:08.17, Seema (India 6th) 33:08.23.

Long jump: Reihaneh Mobini Arani (Iran) 6.40m, Ancy Sojan (India) 6.33m, Shaili Singh (India) 6.30m

100m hurdles: Jyoti Yarraji (India) 12.97 seconds, Yumi Tanaka (Japan) 13.07 seconds, Wu Yanni (China) 13.07 seconds.

Discus throw: Feng Bin (China) 61.90m, Subenrat Insaeng (Thailand) 57.68m, Nanaka Kori (Japan) 56.48m. Seema (India 4th) 56.17m.

–IANS

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