Vithya Ramraj breaks national record for Asian Games bronze

Vithya Ramraj won bronze in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday, setting a personal best of 54.75 seconds and breaking the national record held by P.T. Usha for more than four decades. The result also gave Ramraj her second medal at the Games, after silver in the mixed 4x400-meter relay. Ramraj’s time improved on Usha’s 55.42-second mark, set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Ramraj had previously equalled that record at the 2023 Asian Games, where she also won bronze in the hurdles. Her 54.75-second finish made her the first Indian woman reported to have gone faster than the longstanding national mark in the event. Mariam Kareem of the United Arab Emirates won gold in 54.31 seconds, setting a Games record. Adelina Zems of Kazakhstan took silver in 54.58 seconds. Ramraj finished third, while India’s Anu Raghavan placed fifth in 55.88 seconds, a personal best according to reports of the final. The final added another podium finish to Ramraj’s campaign in Aichi-Nagoya. She had been part of India’s silver-medal team in the mixed 4x400-meter relay earlier in the Games. That result and the hurdles bronze made her a two-time medallist at the event.