SINGAPORE: A record which has withstood the test of time fell on Friday (May 30) when Thiruben Thana Rajan clocked 1:49.94 in the men’s 800m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.

This eclipses the national record of 1:50.56 (electronic timing) set by Sinnathambi Pandian at the 7th Asian Track & Field meet in 1987.

Surendra Subramani clocked a hand-timed mark of 1:49.9 in 1983.

"Everything fell into place for me today and I achieved exactly what I set out to do, which was to break the national record and be the first Singaporean under 1:50," Thiruben told CNA.

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"I’m proud of the fearless race I ran, pushing aggressively from the start."

The 24-year-old said that he had almost exactly a year ago started working with his current coaches, Khairyll Amri and Hamkah Afik and made the decision to switch from the 400m to the 800m.

"I’ve always had the belief that I am capable of taking down this record. This is certainly not the end goal for me, as this first year in the event was all about recovering from past injuries and getting used to the two laps again," he said.

"I’m excited to ramp up my training and improve a lot more by SEA Games in December."

Earlier in the day, Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira finished second overall and first in her heat to book her spot in the women’s 200m final on Saturday. 

Pereira is the defending champion in the event.

On Wednesday, Pereira clinched a silver in the 100m with a time of 11.41s.  China's Liang Xiaojing won with a time of 11.37s. Vietnam's Tran Thi Nhi Yen took bronze with a time of 11.54s.