Racewalkers Ram Baboo, Manju Rani Set New National Records; Breach Qualification Mark For Asian Games

Indian race walkers Ram Baboo and Manju Rani set new national records to win the mens and women's 35km races, respectively, to win the gold at the National Open Race Walking Competition 2023, here on Wednesday.

En route to their win, both the race walkers also breached the qualifying standards for the Asian Games set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Uttar Pradesh's Ram Baboo won the men's 35km race walk after clocking two hours, 31 minutes, and 36 seconds, improving his previous national record of 2:36.34, set at the National Games in Gandhinagar last year. The entry standard for Asian Games 2023 in men's 35km is 2:35:00.

The last edition's winner, Juned Khan, clocked 2:36:04 to be placed second while Chandan Singh came third with the timing of 2:36:55.

Manju from Punjab, meanwhile, clocked 2:57:54 to create a new national record. The entry standard for the women's 35km at the Asian Games was set at 2:58:30. The previous national record was 3:00:04 set by Ramandeep Kaur in the last edition of the tournament.

Payal of Uttarakhand (3:05:34) and Bandana Patel of Uttar Pradesh (3:11:35) came second and third, respectively.

Manju from Punjab, meanwhile, clocked 2:57:54 to create a new national record. The entry standard for the women's 35km at the Asian Games was set at 2:58:30. The previous national record was 3:00:04 set by Ramandeep Kaur in the last edition of the tournament.

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