Asian Games 2026: Why Priyanka Goswami was disqualified in marathon racewalk – Explained

India entered the women’s marathon race walk with hopes of adding two more medal to its tally at the 2026 Asian Games.

But those hopes took an early blow as Priyanka Goswami was disqualified just 7km into the event after receiving four red cards under Rule TR54.7.5.

What is Rule TR54.7.5?

Race walking has strict rules that athletes have to follow throughout the event. The two main technical violations are loss of contact, when an athlete fails to keep visible contact with the ground, and bent knee, when the advancing leg is not kept straight from the moment it first touches the ground until it reaches the upright position.

Judges can issue red cards when they spot an athlete break these rules. In races that use a penalty zone, an athlete who receives three red cards from different judges is sent to the penalty zone to serve a time penalty.

However, the penalty zone does not remove the risk of disqualification. If the same athlete receives a fourth red card from a different judge at any point during the race, they are disqualified under Rule TR54.7.5.

Why was Priyanka Goswami disqualified?

The 2022 commonwealth games silver medalist received four red cards during the women’s marathon race walk.

She was shown two red cards for loss of contact and two for knee flexion.

This meant judges had found that she was not maintaining visible contact with the ground and was not keeping her advancing leg straight as required.

The fourth red card resulted in her disqualification under Rule TR54.7.5. Goswami’s race ended just 7km into the 42.195km event, bringing an early blow to India’s medal hopes.

With Goswami out of the event, India’s medal hopes rests on Manju Rani. Rani had entered the competition with a strong record in race walking.

She had set the inaugural national record in the women’s 42.195km marathon race walk with a time of 3:33:24 at the Indian Open Race Walking Competition in Chandigarh in February 2026.