By Sundeep Misra, OCA Media
Nagoya, Japan, September 29, 2026: Despite another wet, rainy day, the weather did little to dampen the mood of the athletes who put in their all, thrilling the fans who had once again braved the conditions at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Tuesday.
The Asian Games athletics programme Tuesday concluded with breathtaking track performances, punctuated by historic records and some fine tactical displays.
Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew captured his second consecutive 5000m title with trademark tactical running, clocking 13:30.79 to secure gold. The race unfolded dramatically when Japan’s Tomonori Yamaguchi made a bold break with two laps remaining. Balew remained patient, tracking closely before unleashing a devastating final-lap sprint to win. Yamaguchi took silver in 13:31.43 and India’s Gulveer Singh won bronze in 13:32.75 for his third medal of the Games.
“There was fear but I just trusted my training and stayed calm when the pace went up; defending this crown means everything to me,” Balew reflected after retaining both his 5000m and 10,000m titles.
China’s Wu Hongjiao cemented her status as a continental powerhouse in the women’s 800m. Taking command by the second lap, she fended off challengers on the backstretch to win in style. Bahrain’s Nelly Korir took silver in 2:05.16 and Victoria Bossong of the Philippines claimed bronze in 2:05.34. “When they pushed on the backstretch, I just dug deep and trusted my finish,” Wu shared, celebrating her brilliant tactical triumph.
Japan’s Ko Ochiai ran the race of his life in the men’s 800m, capturing gold with a blazing new Games Record of 1:44.48, shattering Sajad Moradi’s 2010 record of 1:45.45. Iran's Ali Amirian took silver in 1:45.10 and Qatar’s Abubaker Abdalla won bronze in 1:45.25. “The crowd’s energy carried me through that final 100m, and breaking the record on home soil is a dream come true,” Ochiai said.
In the 4x100m relay, China claimed gold in a season-best 40.78 seconds, followed by Thailand in 40.87s and India in 41.06s. Meanwhile, India’s women’s 4x400m team broke their 2026 Asian Games athletics gold drought with a stellar 3:29.69, holding off Bahrain coming in at 3:30.21 and China in 3:31.02.
In a thrilling conclusion to the men’s 4x400m relay, the home team from Japan seized gold in 3:00.75, roared on by an electric crowd. Qatar claimed silver in a season-best 3:00.93 and India rounded out the podium with bronze in 3:01.61.
