Servin Sebasthiyan Finished 31st In 20km Race Walk But Could Have Done Better

Last Updated:September 20, 2025, 18:46 IST

Servin Sebasthiyan finished 31st in the men’s 20km Race Walk at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, posting India’s third fastest time in event history.

Indian racewalker Servin Sebasthiyan (AFI Photo)

Race Walker Servin Sebasthiyan did all he could to provide India something more to cheer about, but his inability to stretch and sustain the good work over a longer distance saw him finish 31st among 47 starters in the men’s 20km Race Walk at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on a sultry Saturday morning.

An Asian Championships bronze medalist earlier this year in Gumi, the 25-year-old’s effort over 1 hour 23 minutes and 3 seconds was the third fastest time by an Indian in men’s 20km Race Walk in World Championships history behind KT Irfan’s 1:21:40 (London, 2017) and Vikash Singh’s 1:21:58 (Budapest, 2023).

Only Babubhai Panucha (20th in Berlin, 2009), KT Irfan (23rd, London 2017 and 27th, Doha, 2019), Vikash Singh (27th, Budapest, 2023), and Gurmeet Singh (30th, Daegu, 2011) have placed higher than him in the event in the global competition. It would have needed a more consistent effort over the distance to better those positions.

The Indian did well to stick to the lead group for a bit more than 7km, walking at just over 4 minutes per kilometer pace, but that was just inside his comfort zone on a day when 68 per cent humidity made it tough even for those on a brisk morning stroll with a backpack. With over a third of the race done, the leaders shifted gears, leaving a bunch of hopefuls trailing.

Not much later, it was time for most competitors to assess their condition and decide whether to follow those breaking away from the pack or stay back. After all, quickening the pace would mean they would risk getting weary faster or seeing the paddle being raised to their face for rule violations – either losing contact or a bent lead knee – when attempting to quicken the pace.

A small bunch of Indian coaches, support staff, and Federation officials cheered him on each time Servin Sebasthiyan passed the team’s official hydration station, but it was clear that he needed much more than egging on. To be fair to him, the podium finishers had all picked up two warnings each, and the thought of spending two minutes in the penalty zone would have been hard to deal with.

After 12km of error-free walking, Servin Sebasthiyan was shown the paddle by a judge for loss of contact, and that seemed to shake him up a bit. His final 8km were done at more than 4 and a quarter minutes for each km. Had he not slowed down so apparently, focusing on ensuring that the technique was right, he may have had a chance to improve his personal best time of 1:21:14.

It would not have escaped his notice that China’s Wang Zhaozhao and Japan’s Kento Yoshikawa walked at a faster pace than when they beat him in the continental championships in Gumi. The Chinese finished with the silver medal in 1:18:43 while the home star, drawing massive support from the local fans who lined up along the 1km loop near the stadium, was seventh in 1:19:46.

The race was marked by drama. Toshikazu Yamanishi, who led the pack with 4km left, was sent to the penalty zone for two minutes and dropped to the 28th position. The 34-year-old Caio Bonfim (Brazil) lost his wedding ring before 3km were complete, but made his way up from 24th place after 7km to win gold, his fourth medal in eight World Championship appearances.

Interestingly, and not surprisingly, Wang Zhaozhao revealed that he had made the World Championships his main focus. “The Asian championships were just a practice. Now I would love to take this form to the National Games in Guangzhou and have a great performance there," he said, offering a glimpse into the Chinese athlete’s mindset and approach.

On Saturday, he was the only Indian 20km race walker compared to the three who had competed in the event in Budapest in 2023. In some ways, it was symptomatic of the reduced representation and the moderate results obtained in this edition by the Indian squad, indicating that the journey from being a strong nation on the continent to doing well in global events is tricky and challenging.

From 28 athletes in Budapest, the team size dropped to 19. After having won a medal each in 2022 and 2023 through Neeraj Chopra’s efforts, Sachin Yadav’s fourth place in men’s Javelin Throw was the best achievement by an Indian in Tokyo. And while six Indians had gone past qualification rounds into the finals in Budapest, the number fell to three in the Japanese capital.

To his credit, it must be said that Servin Sebasthiyan tried gamely to deliver a performance that would lift the morale of his teammates. It is not as if he was expected to challenge the best race walkers, but a personal best – and perhaps a National Record – would have helped the team close the competition on a happier note.

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