Gopi Thonakal has become the first Indian male runner to win the Gold in the Asian Marathon Championship. The 29-year-old, hailing from Kerala, achieved the feat in the 16th edition of the prestigious event at Dongguan in China today. Thonakal came first clocking 2 hours, 15 minutes and 48 seconds.Andrey Petrov of Uzbekistan bagged the silver, while Byambalev Tseveenravdan of Mongolia finished Third for the bronze.Overall, Thonakal is the third Indian to have won a gold in the event. Asha Agarwal won the women's title in 1985 when the event was a part of the biennial Asian Track and Field Championships. Sunita Godara won the women's title in 1992 after the event was moved out as a separate one, away from the Asian Athletics Championships in 1988.In the 1998 edition, there were two Indian medallists. Vally Sathyabhama clinched the Silver, while Indiresh Dhiraj collected a bronze.