Sawan Barwal Wins Silver in Asian Games 2026 Marathon

India’s Sawan Barwal clinched a silver medal in the men’s marathon at the 2026 Asian Games held in Nagoya on September 26. Barwal clocked 2:11:37 to claim the silver medal behind Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita who clinched the gold medal in 2:10:49. The achievement of Barwal brings an end to the long wait of 44 years by India to win a medal in Asian Games marathon and he also sets a new national record, says Akashvani.

Barwal Closes Second Behind Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita

The men’s marathon event kicked off at 4 a.m. IST with Barwal and other Indian Kartik Karkera among the participants.

Barwal kept pace with the leaders and was in second place at the half way mark. Barwal kept his second place as more runners dropped out of contention towards the end of the race.

Yamashita managed to get clear of Barwal and won the event in 2:10:49 while Barwal finished in second place in 2:11:37.

Position	Athlete	Country	Time	Medal
1	Ichitaka Yamashita	Japan	2:10:49	Gold
2	Sawan Barwal	India	2:11:37	Silver

India Finally Closes 44 Year Marathon Medals Gap in Asian Games

Sawan Barwal’s silver is India’s first medal in the marathon category in the Asian Games since 1982 when Hosur Kukkappa Seetharan won a bronze medal in the New Delhi Asian Games.

India’s Asian Games marathon medals include the gold medal won by Chhota Singh and the bronze medal won by Surat Singh Mathur in the first ever 1951 Asian Games.

Sawan Barwal’s silver is India’s fourth Asian Games medal in the Men’s Marathon and India’s first medal in the Marathon category since 1982.

Asian Games	Indian Athlete	Medal
1951, New Delhi	Chhota Singh	Gold
1951, New Delhi	Surat Singh Mathur	Bronze
1982, New Delhi	Hosur Kukkappa Seetharan	Bronze
2026, Aichi-Nagoya	Sawan Barwal	Silver

Sawan Barwal Shatters a New National Record

Barwal clocked 2:11:37 to improve his national record by completing the marathon event at the Asian Games.

According to World Athletics, Barwal previously had the national record time of 2:11:58 recorded at the Rotterdam Marathon held on April 12, 2026. The Asian Games record time is thus 21 seconds faster than the latter time.

Born on February 18, 1998, Barwal has been participating in long-distance events such as 10,000 metres, half marathon, and marathon events. World Athletics tracks his record times in 10,000m as well as marathons.

Kartik Karkera Placed 17th

The other Indian runner in the men’s marathon event was Kartik Karkera who came in 17th position with a total time of 2:22:41.

Marathon was one of the sports events in the athletics program of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The event was set to take place on September 26.