Akshdeep, Priyanka win men's and women's 20km race championship gold

Unheralded Akshdeep Singh clinched the men's 20km event gold with a stunning national record time to qualify for this year's World Championships as well as 2024 Paris Olympics on the opening day of the National Open Race Walking Championships here on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old from Punjab clocked 1 hour 19 minutes and 55 seconds to obliterate the earlier national record of 1:20:16 which was in the name of veteran Sandeep Kumar who finished a lowly seventh with 1:23.28.

The men's 20km race walk qualifying time for both the World Championships to be held in Budapest in August and 2024 Olympics is 1:20:10.

Before Tuesday's surprise result, Akshdeep's personal best was 1:26:10 which he had clocked at the Inter-University Championships at Moodbidri in Karnataka early last year.

Women's 20km event national record holder Priyanka Goswami expectedly won gold with a time of 1:28:50 to also qualify for both the World Championships and 2024 Olympics. Her national record stands at 1:28:45 which she had set in 2021.

The women's 20km race walk qualifying time for both the World Championships to be held in Budapest in August and 2024 Olympics is 1:29:20.