Japan: Indian Army soldier Sawan Barwal has created history in the Asian Games 2026. He brought glory to India by winning the silver medal in the men's marathon on September 26 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Sawan completed the 42.195 kilometer race in two hours 11 minutes 37 seconds and also made a new national record.
With this achievement of Sawan, India's 44-year wait for a men's marathon medal in the Asian Games ended. Earlier, India had won a medal in this event in the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982. 28 year old Sawan, resident of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, made the country proud with his hard work and brilliant performance.
Missed gold by just 48 seconds, Japanese runner won
In the men's marathon, Sawan Barwal won the silver medal, while Japan's Ichitaka Yamashita won the gold medal. Yamashita finished the race 48 seconds ahead of Sawan.
China's Peiyu Feng won the bronze medal with a timing of 2 hours 12 minutes 13 seconds.
Sawan created her new national record by completing the race in two hours 11 minutes 37 seconds. With this performance he also became the fourth Indian to win a medal in the men's marathon at the Asian Games.
India gets medal in marathon after 1982
India had earlier won a medal in the men's marathon in the Asian Games in the 1982 Games held in Delhi. During that time Hosur Kukkappa Sitaran had won the bronze medal.
At the same time, in the first Asian Games held in Delhi in 1951, Chhota Singh won the gold medal and Surat Singh Mathur won the bronze medal.
This achievement of Sawan Barwal has added a new chapter to Indian athletics. There is an atmosphere of happiness among sports lovers as India got a medal in men's marathon after 44 years.
Sawan's goal was to win more medals than the record
Sawan Barwal expressed his happiness after winning the silver medal. He said that his aim was not to improve the national record but to win a medal for the country.
Sawan said, “My goal was to win a medal, not to improve my record, but this is also a national record. I am happy that I could win a medal for the country after such a long time.”
He told that his strategy during the race was to remain in the first group till 39.40 kilometers. He ran with the first group from the start and decided to finish in the last one or two kilometres.
According to Sawan, only three runners were left around kilometer 38.37. He tried to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race.
Made debut in marathon this year
Sawan Barwal made his debut in marathon this year after running in 5000 meters, 10000 meters and half marathon.
In April, he had performed brilliantly in the NN Marathon held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. There he broke the 48 year old national record of Shivnath Singh.
Shivnath Singh's record was 2 hours 11 minutes 58 seconds, while Sawan created a new national record by clocking better than this in Rotterdam. Now in the Asian Games, he further improved his performance and recorded a time of two hours 11 minutes 37 seconds.
Driver's son Sawan achieved his position with hard work
The journey of Sawan Barwal, resident of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, has been full of struggle and hard work. His father worked as a driver in Delhi, while his mother Subhadra Devi is a housewife.
Sawan had joined the Indian Army along with his brother from sports quota in the year 2019. While in the army, he made his mark in athletics and has now made the country proud by winning a silver medal in the Asian Games.
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