Vithya Ramraj wins bronze in women’s 400m hurdles, breaks PT Usha’s national record

Published: September 28, 2026 05:08 PM IST

India’s Vithya Ramraj has won a bronze medal in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Asian Games 2026.

Ramraj’s bronze-winning performance also saw her break a national record held by PT Usha for over 40 years.

This is Ramraj’s second medal of the Games, having previously won silver in the 4x400m mixed relay.

Nagoya: India secured another medal in athletics event at Asian Games 2026, with Vithya Ramraj clinching a bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles here on Monday. The 28-year-old finished third in the race, behind Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems, who took silver with a personal best of 54.58 seconds. UAE’s Mariam Kareem secured gold with a Games record finish of 54.31 seconds.

Vithya made history, breaking a more than four-decade-old national record created by the legendary PT Usha. The athlete from Coimbatore bettered Usha’s 55.42sec effort that came in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. It was the second medal at this edition of the Games for Ramraj following the silver in the 4x400m mixed relay event. Usha, currently heading the Indian Olympic Association and was in attendance at the Games.

Malayali athlete Anu Raghavan finished fifth in the race, without a medal but recorded a personal best of 55.88 seconds.
(with PTI inputs)