Race walkers fail to replicate their best in Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO: All the three Indians failed to come up with their best performance in the 20km race walk in the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday with Sandeep Kumar placed the best with a timing of 1 hour 25.07 seconds.

Sandeep, who also took part in the Rio Olympics in 2016 and was placed 35th, could not replicate his recent form nor come close to his national record as he struggled with the conditions. The national record stands in name of KT Irfan at 1:20.21 while Sandeep has clocked 1:20.16, which is yet to be ratified.

Rahul Rohilla was placed 47th with a timing of 1:32.06 while KT Irfan, a two-time Olympian who also took part in the London Olympics in 2012, finished 51st in position. Irfan had finished 10th in the London Olympics.

Italy's Massimo Stano saw off a stiff challenge from Koki Ikeda of Japan to win the gold medal in 1:21:05. The Japanese took the silver in 1:21:14 while his compatriot and the reigning world champion Toshikazu Yamanishi completed the podium in 1:21:28.

Of the 57 competitors that started the race on Thursday, only 52 crossed the finish line as the event was held in tough conditions. Agencies

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