Nagano (Japan), Dec 21 (IANS): India's Shiva Keshavan won silver at the 17th Asian Luge Championships here Sunday, bagging the medal after a close contest between the top three contenders.

Japan's Hidenari Kanayama won gold with a time of of 49.791 seconds, followed by Keshavan (49.934). South Korean Kim was not far behind with a best time of 50.178.

"Hidenari was practically unstoppable today. I was really happy with my race as I gave it my best shot," said Keshavan in a statement Sunday.

Coach Duncan Kennedy was happy with Shiva's progress.

"We have made good progress on Shiva's comfort level on the equipment and it is showing in his consistency. We still have a lot of progress to make in aerodynamics as well as overall equipment, through materials and technology, over the next few months," he said.

"There is also room for improvement at the start, so we are in a good place right now keeping our long term goals in mind."

The Class B of the Asia Cup also saw India's Murlidhar Negi finish ninth. In the Ladies' Class B section, India's Yuvavanti Negi, Nikita Thakur and Jahnavi Rawat finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.