Asian Games: Mukesh Pal breaks 20-year-old national record in men’s 5,000m

Kathmandu, Sept 30: Nepali athlete Mukesh Bahadur Pal has set a new national record in the men’s 5,000 metres at the ongoing 20th Asian Games in Japan.

Pal clocked 14 minutes 03.61 seconds, finishing ninth among 18 competitors in the event, according to the National Sports Council (NSC).

With the performance, Pal surpassed the previous national record of 14 minutes 04.89 seconds, set by Rajendra Bhandari during the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Pal lowered Bhandari’s record by more than one second, bringing an end to the record that had stood for over two decades.