Sawan Barwal wins Asian Games marathon silver

Sawan Barwal won silver in the men’s marathon at the Asian Games on September 26, giving India its first medal in the event since 1982. He finished in 2:11:37, behind Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita, who took gold in 2:10:49. China’s Peiyou Feng won bronze in 2:12:13. The result ended a 44-year gap between Indian podium finishes in the Asian Games men’s marathon. India’s previous medal came at the 1982 Games, when Hosur Kukkappa Seetharan won bronze. Barwal’s silver was also reported as a national record, improving his previous mark of 2:11:58 by 21 seconds. Barwal reached the finish 48 seconds after Yamashita and 36 seconds ahead of Feng. Accounts of the race say he spent part of it among the leaders. One report placed him in the lead at halfway, when he had clocked 1:05:54, but the detailed sequence of changes in position was not independently corroborated in the supplied reports. The national-record comparison was tied to Barwal’s earlier performance at the Rotterdam Marathon in April 2026. He had set a time of 2:11:58 there, breaking Shivnath Singh’s 48-year-old record, according to race coverage. Barwal’s Asian Games time lowered that mark by 21 seconds.