Sawan Barwal woke up at 3.30 am, ate a banana and, a few hours later, ran into Indian athletics history.On the damp streets of Nagoya, Barwal won silver in the Asian Games marathon, ending the country’s 44-year wait for a medal in the event — and becoming the first Indian to win one outside home soil.The 28-year-old clocked 2:11:37, lowering his own national record, but there was no catching Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita, who pulled away to win gold in 2:10:49. “This feels special. To win a medal, and set a national record doing it and ending a long wait for a marathon medal… this was my target.”For Barwal, competing in only his second marathon, the silver was the culmination of an extraordinary transformation — and not bad for someone who had taken up marathon running just a year ago.Click here to read our Asian Games full coverageBarwal had spent much of his career running middle-and long-distance events before coach Scott Simmons encouraged him to make the switch to the marathon. He had joined the Indian Army in 2019, having found athletics almost by accident, and began training specifically for the 42.195-kilometre distance last year.The switch demanded a different kind of runner. The speed work gave way to long sessions and punishing mileage; Barwal now runs around 190 kilometres a week, according to Simmons, and had completed three marathon simulations in the three months before the Asian Games. A training stint in Colorado Springs, after being sent there by the Athletics Federation of India, further helped him adapt to the demands of the marathon.It was all preparation for this one morning. “The plan was always to challenge for the podium. I had been training for this moment for so long, so if I didn’t win a medal, all of it would have felt like a waste of effort,” Barwal said.Story continues below this adThe race unfolded under an overcast sky, a light drizzle falling over Nagoya. The rain offered some respite from the heat, but the humidity remained, making the conditions uncomfortable for the runners.The early pace was brisk. After five kilometres, Barwal was in a six-man lead group, just a second behind China’s Feng Peiyou, who had briefly taken the lead, with the Indian clocking 15:28. The pace then ebbed and flowed. Around 15 kilometres, it dipped sharply, with the leading group covering a kilometre in 2:53-2:54. The field was already beginning to thin, but Barwal stayed tucked into the pack.At halfway, he was running shoulder to shoulder with Yamashita, both crossing in 1:05:54. The Japanese runner had the home crowd — that had lined up the city’s streets early in the morning — behind him. Barwal had Simmons’ instructions in his ears. “We didn’t want to slow down. The race went fast in the beginning. But after three-four kilometres, it slowed down and remained up and down,” Barwal, who drank just 120ml of fluids from all eight water stations, said. “Our target was to stay with the group till the end. If we could maintain that position, the chances of winning the medal would increase.”A new National Record and a historic Silver for India! 賂44 years later, Sawan Barwal puts India back on the Men's Marathon podium at the Asian Games with a sensational ퟐ:ퟏퟏ:ퟑퟕ finish! Watch the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya LIVE on Sony Sports Network TV channels &… pic.twitter.com/nUAJqoNO0I— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 26, 2026The strategy was less about making a move than refusing to make the wrong one. Barwal wanted to remain in the middle of the pack, never pushing beyond his limit. That patience became crucial after 30km, when the race suddenly changed. The pace rose as the runners reached an uphill stretch and the group of six began to splinter. Soon, only three or four remained.Barwal briefly lost contact as Yamashita accelerated up the hill. But he did not panic. Once the road tilted downwards again, he clawed back the lost ground. “After 30 km, when you see the hill and the pace increases, you feel a little different. I got left behind, but when we crossed it, I covered it on the downward slope,” he said.Story continues below this adBy the final 10km, there were only three runners left in contention. Barwal knew the danger of going beyond what his body could sustain. His experience at the Rotterdam Marathon earlier this year, where he had set the national record, had taught him how brutal the closing kilometres could be. “We didn’t try to go too fast. We kept the limit at 2:58 per kilometre,” he said. “Our target was not to go beyond our limit.”Yamashita eventually found another gear. By 39 kilometres, he had begun to pull away, and at 40 kilometres the gap was 26 seconds. The gold was slipping away, but Barwal’s silver was not.The Japanese runner entered the stadium to a roar from the home crowd and crossed the line in 2:10:51. Barwal followed, holding on for second and lowering the national record he had set in Rotterdam in April.That race had already been a breakthrough. Barwal had become the first Indian to break 2:12 in the marathon, bettering Shivnath Singh’s 48-year-old national record in Holland. In Nagoya, he went faster still — and added an Asian Games medal to it, ending India’s 44-year wait.