Sawan Barwal delivered one of the defining performances of India's athletics campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, winning the silver medal in the men's marathon in a new Indian national record of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 37 seconds.
The 28-year-old Army runner from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh finished behind Japan's Ichitaka Yamashita, who took gold in 2:10:49. China's Peiyou Feng claimed the bronze in 2:12:13. The silver ended India's 44-year wait for a men's marathon medal at the Asian Games — and made Barwal the first Indian man to win one on foreign soil.
A race led from the front
Remarkably, this was only the second marathon of Barwal's career. Starting at 4:00 a.m. IST with 19 runners in the field, he went out aggressively, moving into the lead by the 10km mark in 31:28 and staying in front through the halfway point (1:05:54) and 25km (1:18:19).
He briefly slipped to second at the 30km mark, one second behind the leader, before retaking the front at 35km. Yamashita made his decisive move in the closing kilometres and opened a 48-second gap, but Barwal held his nerve to secure silver, 36 seconds clear of bronze.
Smashing his own record
Barwal's 2:11:37 lowered the national record he had set himself in April this year — a debut marathon of 2:11:58 at Rotterdam — which had broken Shivnath Singh's long-standing 2:12:00 mark from 1978.
A former 5,000m and 10,000m track runner who joined the Indian Army in 2019, Barwal switched to the marathon after missing the 2022 Asian Games with injuries. India's other runner in the race, Kartik Karkera, finished 17th in 2:22:41.
He is only the fourth Indian man to stand on an Asian Games marathon podium, after Chhota Singh's gold and Surat Mathur's bronze at the 1951 Games in New Delhi and H.K. Seetharam's bronze at the 1982 Games in Delhi — all of which were won on home soil.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta were among those who congratulated Barwal on social media on Saturday.
Sources:
Sawan Barwal Wins Historic Marathon Silver with New National Record at Asian Games 2026 — IndiaSportsHub
Who Is Sawan Barwal? Meet India's New Marathon Record-Holder Who Made History in Nagoya — SportsDigest
Mandaviya Hails Sawan Barwal's Asian Games Marathon Silver — Nation Press
The 28-year-old Army runner from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh finished behind Japan's Ichitaka Yamashita, who took gold in 2:10:49. China's Peiyou Feng claimed the bronze in 2:12:13. The silver ended India's 44-year wait for a men's marathon medal at the Asian Games — and made Barwal the first Indian man to win one on foreign soil.
A race led from the front
Remarkably, this was only the second marathon of Barwal's career. Starting at 4:00 a.m. IST with 19 runners in the field, he went out aggressively, moving into the lead by the 10km mark in 31:28 and staying in front through the halfway point (1:05:54) and 25km (1:18:19).
He briefly slipped to second at the 30km mark, one second behind the leader, before retaking the front at 35km. Yamashita made his decisive move in the closing kilometres and opened a 48-second gap, but Barwal held his nerve to secure silver, 36 seconds clear of bronze.
Smashing his own record
Barwal's 2:11:37 lowered the national record he had set himself in April this year — a debut marathon of 2:11:58 at Rotterdam — which had broken Shivnath Singh's long-standing 2:12:00 mark from 1978.
A former 5,000m and 10,000m track runner who joined the Indian Army in 2019, Barwal switched to the marathon after missing the 2022 Asian Games with injuries. India's other runner in the race, Kartik Karkera, finished 17th in 2:22:41.
He is only the fourth Indian man to stand on an Asian Games marathon podium, after Chhota Singh's gold and Surat Mathur's bronze at the 1951 Games in New Delhi and H.K. Seetharam's bronze at the 1982 Games in Delhi — all of which were won on home soil.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta were among those who congratulated Barwal on social media on Saturday.
Sources:
Sawan Barwal Wins Historic Marathon Silver with New National Record at Asian Games 2026 — IndiaSportsHub
Who Is Sawan Barwal? Meet India's New Marathon Record-Holder Who Made History in Nagoya — SportsDigest
Mandaviya Hails Sawan Barwal's Asian Games Marathon Silver — Nation Press
