India began their campaign at the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu, Japan, today with a strong start , clinching four medals, including a gold.
Ashish Jakhar won a gold medal in the men’s hammer throw event. He set a junior national record throwing 6 kilogram iron ball and chain to a distance of 76.86 meters. This shattered the previous mark of 75.04 meters that he himself had set at the Junior Federation Cup in April.
Triple jumper Priyadarshini Suresh and long distance runner Poonam Sonune added to the tally with bronze medals in women’s events. Quartermiler Jisna Mathew was the fastest across the two heats in the women’s 400 metre race.
Defending champion Mathews qualified for the final with a time of 54.78 seconds. Also fastest across the heats in his event was Ajit Kumar who clocked 3 minutes 58.46 seconds in the men’s 1500 meter race.