Indian women’s 4X400m relay quartet lived up to expectations by defending the gold medal won in 2006 with AC Ashwini anchoring the team to glory in the Asian Games at Guangzhou on Friday.

Running in the third leg, Ashwini, who earlier clinched the yellow metal in the 400m hurdles, gave the Indian team a huge lead over second-placed Kazakhstan for Mandeep Kaur to maintain it till the finishing line in 3min 29.02sec.

In the first leg, India’s Manjeet Kaur was running second before Sini Jose gave a slender lead for Ashwini to take over.

Kazakhstan took the silver in 3:30.03 while China claimed the bronze in 3:30.89.

With the gold medal, the Indian quartet have won their second gold in two months in a multi-sporting event, having won the title in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, though today’s effort was well below 3:27.77 in the CWG.

In 2006 Asian Games, Satti Geetha, Pinki Parmanik, Chitra K Soman and Manjeet Kaur had won the gold in 3:32.95. (SS-26/11)

Sreedharan gets silver, Kavita settles for bronze in 5000m

Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut clocked their personal bests to clinch the silver and bronze respectively in the women’s 5000m final of the Asian Games in Guangzhou.

Sreedharan, who earlier clinched the 10,000m gold, returned a timing of 15:15.89.
Raut, who bagged a silver in 10,000m, could not get past Sreedharan yet again but managed a personal best of 15:16.54 to win the bronze.

Bahrain’s Mimi Belete Gebgregeiorges clinched the gold medal with a timing of 15:15.59, which was incidentally her personal best as well.