Sudha wins gold in women's steeplechase

Sudha Singh produced a superb performance to win gold in the women's 3,000 metre steeplechase at the Asian Athletics Championships here on Saturday.

Sudha finished at the top of the podium with a time of nine minutes and 59.47 seconds. 

The experienced Indian produced a superb finishing sprint in the last round to leave the other runners trailing in her wake.

Hyo Gyong of North Korea finished a distant second with a time of 10:13.94 while Japan's Nana Sato took the bronze with 10:18.11.

Parul Chaudhary, the other Indian in the women's steeplechase final was fourth with a time of 10:22.99.

Sudha, who has been battling injuries and health problems since the Rio Olympics last year, was happy with her performance.

"I was out of action for five months after the Olympics. Even after I resumed training I could not go all out as I used to get dizziness quite frequently. I joined the national camp in December and slowly started to pick up form.

"The top runners of Asia had not come for this meet so the overall standard was below my level," Sudha told reporters.

"I have already competed in two Olympics and wanted to achieve something here. I want to win medals at the international level. My target was to do well at the Asian Championships and also at next month's World Championships." - IANS