Vithya Ramraj wins bronze in women’s 400m hurdles, breaks PT Usha’s 42-year record

Indian athlete Vithya Ramraj clinched the bronze medal in the women's 400m hurdles at the Asian Games 2026 on Monday, clocking a personal best of 54.75 seconds

Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 28: Indian athlete Vithya Ramraj clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Asian Games 2026 on Monday, clocking a personal best of 54.75 seconds and breaking a national record that had stood since 1984.Vithya breaks national recordVithya cleared all 10 hurdles to finish third in the final, producing a record-breaking performance in Aichi-Nagoya, according to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).A MOMENT OF HISTORY! Congratulations to Vithya Ramraj on clinching Bronze in the Women’s 400m Hurdles Final at #AsianGames2026! Breaking the National Record set by legendary PT Usha, Vithya has etched her name in India’s athletics history. What a performance! Keep rising,… pic.twitter.com/Ljof9rBuss— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 28, 2026She broke the previous national record of 55.42 seconds, set by legendary Indian athlete PT Usha at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Vithya had earlier equalled the same mark in 2023.'Three Matches In 18 Hours': PV Sindhu Criticises Asian Games 2026 Badminton Schedule After Quarter-Final ExitPodium finish in Aichi-NagoyaMariam Kareem of the UAE won the gold medal with a Games record time of 54.31 seconds, while Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems took silver after clocking 54.58 seconds.Vithya’s 54.75-second effort not only secured her the bronze medal but also marked a significant improvement on her previous best, as she became the first Indian to surpass the long-standing 55.42-second national record in the women’s 400m hurdles.The achievement comes 42 years after Usha established the record, with Vithya now taking the top spot in the Indian record books in the event.Also Watch:India’s medal tally risesAnu Raghavan, meanwhile, another Indian in the field, also clocked a personal best of 55.88s to finish fifth.India's medal tally has now risen to 40 medals, comprising four gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze, with the country currently placed 12th in the medal standings.(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

The bronze also means Vithya has won a medal in the same event at two consecutive editions of the Asian Games. She had also won bronze in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2022 Asian Games.