Ashwini, Abraham make it a golden double

The lone bronze medal of the day in athletics came from Tintu Luka in the women's 800 metres at the Aoti Main Stadium

In the women's 400m hurdles, Ashwini clinched the gold medal with a personal best timing of 56.15 seconds. It was also the best timing by an Indian in 25 years.

Ashwini's compatriot Juana Murmu missed the bronze by a whisker as she finished fourth in 56.88 secs. Both the Indians had topped their heats.

The silver went to China's Wang Xing with a timing of 56.76 secs and Japan's Satomi Kubokokura got the bronze with a timing of 56.83 secs.

For Ashwini the gold was special as it was only in 2010 that she took to hurdles and the final was her sixth competitive race. Ashwini, who hails from Karnataka, started with 800m and then shifted to 400m. Before Ashwini, M.D.Valsamma (1982) and P.T.Usha (1986) had won the Asian Games gold medal in 400m hurdles.

Text: IANS

Images: AP/AFP

Image: India's Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji, center, winner of the women's 400m hurdles, celebrates with silver medal's winner China's Wang Xing, left, and Japan's Satomi Kubokura, bronze, at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010.