Competing with a pole borrowed from the organisers, Havildar Sunil Kumar won the decathlon gold medal with his personal best performance in the Asian U-20 Athletics Championship on Tuesday.
Indian Army's Havildar Sunil Kumar, competing with a pole borrowed from the organisers, achieved his personal best on Tuesday at the Asian U-20 Athletics Championship in Yecheon-gun, South Korea, to win the decathlon gold medal.
Congratulations to Hav Sunil Kumar on winning the Gold medal in Decathlon w/ 7003 pts at the 20th Asian U20 Athletics Championship in Yecheon, South Korea! Your dedication and talent make us proud! pic.twitter.com/p54FT50vpk
— A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD)Prior to competing in the track and field, the 18-year-old experienced a setback when South Korean Airlines and Air India refused to let him transport his pole vault because of "technical issues" with the apparatus' five-metre length.
However, Sunil still managed to win the gold, taking first place in the 10-event tournament with a personal-best score of 7003 points on the competition's tenth and final day.
Congratulations 🎉
Havildar Sunil Kumar of Indian Army wins Gold Medal 🥇 in Decathlon at the 20th Asian U20 Athletics Championship in South Korea!!
Jai Hind 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/o33z1BiU6X
The Athletics Federation of India had asked the event's organisers to give Sunil a pole because he came in fourth place.
To make up for the lacklustre performance in the other events and win the gold medal in the demanding discipline contested over two days, Sunil won the 100-meter hurdles, discus throw, and javelin throw.
Pooja cleared 1.82 metres to take home silver in the women's high jump. With a time of 9:41.47s in the women's 3000m race, Bushra Khan added another silver.
With a time of 45.36s, the Indian women's 4x100m relay team won bronze.
Fast-rising Rezoana Mallick Heena and Bharatpreet Singh both won a gold medal on the first day of competition on Sunday in the men's discus throw and women's 400-meter races.
Siddharth Choudhary, a shot putter, added another gold medal on Monday with a throw of 19.52 metres, a personal best.
Here's a look at some of the other reactions on Twitter to Havildar Sunil Kumar's heroics in South Korea:
Outstanding performance. Sunil Kumar wins decathlon gold. He scored 7003 points at Asian U20 Athletics Championship today. pic.twitter.com/nUEi7klUff
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia)Congratulations to Hav Sunil Kumar on winning the Gold medal in Decathlon w/ 7003 pts at the 20th Asian U20 Athletics Championship in Yecheon, South Korea! Your dedication and talent make us proud! https://t.co/c9RhRvYi4z
— prodefencechandigarh (@prodefencechan1)Thanks to scoring 7003 pts, Sunil Kumar wins GOLD medal in men's Decathlon category at Asian U20 Championships.
— Sports Desk (@Shuvo10976159)Asian U20 Championships: 's Sunil Kumar won the Gold medal 🥇 in the men's Decathlon with 7003 points. He topped in 110 m hurdles, Discus throw, and Javelin throw. Great achievement by him. This is India's 4th Gold medal. 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
— Anirban Paul (@anirpaul)Athletics, Asian U20 Championships: Sunil Kumar scripts an unbelievable comeback in the men's Decathlon to win a historic gold medal for India with a total of 7003 pts (PB).. He registered a time of 4:45.72(645) to overcome the 104 pts deficit b/w Nodir(496) of UZB!
Sunil 👏🥇🇮🇳
Day3⃣of Asian U20 Athletics Championships begins with🥇for 🇮🇳.
Sunil Kumar scripts history in Men's Decathlon to win🥇with 7003 points. He registered a time of 4:45.72 in 1500m to overcome the 104 pts deficit b/w Nodir, 🇺🇿 and him.
Congratulations champ👏🥳 pic.twitter.com/r9G5sRw3Cc