New Delhi: India clinched the Gold Medal with a stellar performance in the women’s 4×400m relay at the 2026 Asian Games. The Indian team, comprising Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma Machettira, Prachi Choudhary, and Vithya Ramraj, secured the top spot by finishing the race in 3:29.69. Bahrain won the Silver Medal with a time of 3:30.21, while China took the Bronze with a time of 3:31.02.
India started the race from lane six, with Kiran Pahal running the opening leg. She handed over the baton in third place before M.R. Poovamma ran the second leg and reduced the gap on the leaders. Prachi took the third leg and kept India in contention before handing the baton to Vithya Ramraj for the final leg.
Vithya Ramraj picked up the pace in the final stretch and narrowed the gap with the leading runners. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser was also very much in contention, but Vithya produced a powerful finish to cross the line first and win the gold medal for India.
India finished 0.52 seconds ahead of Bahrain, while Japan secured fourth place with a time of 3:31.44. This result added another gold medal to India’s athletics campaign at the Asian Games.
This gold medal marked Vithya Ramraj’s third medal at the 2026 Asian Games. She had previously won a silver medal in the women’s 4×400m mixed relay and a bronze in the 400m hurdles. In the hurdles event, Vithya also set a new Indian national record with a time of 54.75 seconds.
(DD News)
