Vithya Ramraj clinched bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Asian Games 2026, breaking P.T. Usha’s 42-year-old national record with a time of 54.75 seconds.
Indian athlete Vithya Ramraj won the bronze medal in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Asian Games 2026 on Monday, clocking her best time of 54.75 seconds and breaking a national record that has stood since 1984. Vithya was able to clear all 10 hurdles to finish third in the final.
She broke the previous national record set by the legendary Indian athlete P.T. Usha at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, standing at 55.42 seconds. While she was faster than the set time during her run this time, she had equalled the time mark back in 2023.
Mariam Kareem from the UAE won the gold medal with a record time of 54.31 seconds, while Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems took silver after clocking 54.58 seconds. Vithya’s superior performance has not only helped her secure a bronze medal but also marked a significant improvement over her previous bests.
The achievement comes 42 years after P.T. Usha had established the record, with Vithya now taking the top spot in the Indian record books in the event. Anu Raghavan, another Indian in the field, also clocked a personal-best performance of 55.88 seconds to finish fifth. India has now been able to accrue 40 medals, comprising four gold medals, 17 silver and 19 bronze, with the country currently standing 12th in the overall standings.
Vithya gained global recognition when she equalled P.T. Usha’s national record at the Hangzhou Asian Games. She equalled the record timing of 55.42 seconds in the 400m hurdles. She was able to secure a bronze medal in the individual event and silver in the mixed relay.
More from SportsShe won a bronze medal in the individual event and a silver in the mixed relay while competing with her twin Nithya at the ASIAD. After that, she competed in the relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics and won a bronze medal at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships.
With Agency Inputs