Athlete Irfan qualifies for Tokyo Olympics
Nomi (Japan), March 17 (IANS) Indian athlete K.T. Irfan has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as he finished fourth in the men's 20 kilometre category at the Asian Race Walking Championships here.
The 29-year-old clocked 1 hour 20 minutes and 57 seconds to finish inside the Olympic qualification standard of 1 hour and 21 minutes.
The Kerala athlete holds the national record of 1:20:21 which he achieved during his 10th place finish at the 2012 Olympics in London.
He also qualified for this year's World Championships as he bettered the qualifying mark of 1:22:30.
He was one of the two Indian athletes who were expelled from the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia for violating the 'no needle policy' of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).