Gopi Thonakal becomes first Indian man to win Asian Marathon Championship

Gopi Thonakal from Kerala has become the first Indian man to win Asian Marathon Championship. He achieved the feat in the 16th edition of the prestigious event, at Dongguan in China on November 26, 2017. Gopi clocked 2 hours 15 minutes and 48 seconds to clinch gold. He, thus, became the first Indian man to win the title after the formation of separate Asian Marathon championships. Andrey Petrov of Uzbekistan bagged silver while Byambalev Tseveenravdan of Mongolia won bronze. Earlier, Asha Agarwal won the women’s title when it was part of the biennial Asian Track and Field Championships.