Athletics
National Games 2025: Sawan Barwal wins Gold in 10,000m; qualifies for Asian Athletics C'ships
Barwal's timing set a new meet record and bettered his personal best of 28:51.88.
Long-distance runner Sawan Barwal clinched gold in the men’s 10,000m event at the National Games 2025 on Saturday at the Ganga Athletics Ground, Uttarakhand.
The Himachal Pradesh athlete has secured his place at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025, set to take place in Gumi, South Korea, from May 27 to 31.
Barwal delivered an outstanding performance, crossing the finish line in 28:49.93, well inside the qualification mark of 29:33.26. He finished nearly 15 seconds ahead of his closest rival, securing a comfortable victory.
The silver medal went to Kiran Matre of Maharashtra, who clocked 29:04.76, while Vinod Singh of Madhya Pradesh took the bronze with a time of 29:43.60.
He surpassed his personal best of 28:51.88, which he had set in May 2024 at the Night of the 10,000m PBs in London.
His new timing of 28:49.93 set a meet record, showcasing his consistency and improvement.
However, he remains some distance away from the national record of 27:14.88, set by Gulveer Singh at the Hachioji Long Distance 2024 meet in Japan.
