Vithya Ramraj won a bronze medal in the 2026 Asian Games in the 400m hurdles category. She broke P..T Usha’s long-standing national record.
Photo : AP
Vithya Ramraj created history in the 2026 Asian Games by securing the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles event on Monday (September 28) at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Alongside the podium finish, she broke a national record of P. T. Usha, which stood for 42 years after being set in the 1984 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics, where she famously finished fourth, which was the joint-best by an Indian in track and field events alongside Milkha Singh before Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Ramraj finished the race in 55:41 seconds, which is a national record in the event. Usha held the record since the mega event four decades ago in LA with a time of 55:42.Meanwhile, the gold medal was won by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mariam Kareem (54:31 seconds), while Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems (54:58 seconds).
Vithya Ramraj’s Remarkable Asian Games Medal
Vithya has won her second medal of the ongoing edition after being key to the silver medal in the 4*400m mixed relay event, where she pulled off an incredible comeback in a race where she was the team’s anchor. Overall, it is her fifth podium finish in the Asian Games after winning the silver medal in the mixed and women’s 4*400m relay as well as bronze in the 400m hurdles in the 2023 edition, which took place in Hangzhou.