INDIA’S 4x400m RELAY ATHLETES broke the athletics gold jinx at the Asian Games 2026, by securing the top spot, which ended in spectacularly nail-biting fashion. A relay team featuring Vithya Ramraj, Kiran Pahal, Machettira Poovamma and Prachi Singh successfully put an end to the impending threat of India finishing the Asian Games without a gold medal for the first time since 1994.
The ending, however, was poetic. The tricolor soared high, as the athletes crossed the finish line leaving others behind, in what was one of the most competitive events of this year's Asian games.
The Indian team clocked a total time of 3:29:69, finishing ahead of Bahrain who won the silver medal at 3:30:21, and China with a bronze medal at 3:31:02. This was a crucial win for India, as they were going through a phase of just silver and bronze medals in its collection.
The race began with Kiran Pahal taking the opening strides for the country, and handed over the baton to M.R Poovamma. Pahal was the third athlete to pass on the baton. Following Pahal’s brilliant run, it was time for Poovamma—the seniormost athlete in the team—to showcase the gravitas of experience. The 36-year-old Arjuna Award winner had been a star athlete in the Asian games in the last decade, and made a wonderful comeback.
Trailing between the third and fourth position, Poovamma shifted her gears and handed over the baton to Prachi in the second position. It was then Prachi, who had a great competition with her Bahraini and Chinese opponents with each athlete catching up on each other. The final lap was with Vithya Ramraj, who accelerated past the leading athlete from China, to finish first.
There was a high degree of speculation on whether India would finish the Asian games without a gold medal for the first time in 32 years. With this victory, India successfully ended its gold medal drought in the 2026 Asian Games.
For Vithya Ramraj, this was the third medal of the games. Earlier, she won the silver medal in 4x400m mixed relay before securing bronze in the 400m hurdles. Her performance echoes brilliance and a hope for India’s future. In the 400m hurdles final, Vithya finished third, clocking 54.75 seconds. This record was a crucial landmark in her career, as it surpassed PT Usha’s national record of 55.42 seconds—which stood for 42 years.
Apart from the gold, India’s athletics team had already put up a great performance. Pooja Singh—the 19-year-old debutant—won the bronze medal in women’s high jump, ending the 24 year drought in securing a women’s high jump medal since 2002.
Gulveer Singh put up a fantastic fight in the men's 5000m, securing third place with a time of 13:32:75.
India also left its mark in men’s 4x400m relay. A team of Dharmveer Choudhary, Manu Thekkinalil, Jay Kumar and Vishal Thennarasu won the bronze medal, clocking a time of 3:01:61, to finish behind Japan and Qatar.
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