Rajiv Arokia bags bronze in men’s 400M race

Rajiv Arokia on Sunday bagged a surprise bronze in men’s 400m race in a personal best timing on the second day of the athletics competitions in the Asian Games. (Medal Tally)

Arokia clocked a creditable 45.92 seconds to better his earlier best of 46.13 seconds which he clocked at the National Inter-State Championships in Lucknow in June. (MR Poovamma Wins Bronze in Women’s 400m)

Arokia’s effort was the seventh best ever by an Indian. The national record in this event is in the name of K M Beenu with a timing of 45.48 seconds set in Athens in the 2004 Olympics.

Pre-match favourite Saudi Arabia’s Yousef Ahmed Masrahi, the season leader, won the gold in a Games record timing of 44.46 seconds while Abubakar Abbas of Bahrain took the silver in 45.62 seconds. The other Indian in the fray, Kunhu Muhammed finished seventh in the eight-competitor field with a timing of 46.53 seconds.