Asian Games 2026: Vithya Ramraj breaks 42-year-old PT Usha record, double podium in javelin

Vithya Ramraj broke a 42-year-old national record held by legendary PT Usha as India enjoyed another big medal haul in athletics at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya on Monday.

Ramraj clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to win bronze in the women's 400m hurdles, bettering Usha's national mark of 55.42s set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The record had stood for more than four decades.

UAE's Mariam Kareem won gold in a Games record 54.31s, while Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems took silver with a personal best of 54.58s. India's Anu Raghavan finished fifth after also setting a personal best of 55.88s.

"Medal is in our hands, but time is not. This race will not come tomorrow or yesterday. Today is our day, so I was going for the timing, not the medal," Ramraj said after the race.

The bronze was Ramraj's second medal of the Games after she was part of India's silver-winning mixed 4x400m relay team.

Murali Sreeshankar added silver in the men's long jump with an 8.07m effort. China's Yuhao Shi won gold with a season-best 8.17m, while Uzbekistan's Anvar Anvarov took bronze with 8.06m. Sreeshankar could not complete his final two attempts after hurting his ankle during his fourth jump.

India also secured a double podium in the men's javelin throw. Yashvir Singh produced a personal best of 85.72m on his sixth and final attempt to take silver, while Rohit Yadav won bronze with 84.35m. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage claimed gold with 88.33m.

Gulveer Singh won his second silver of the Games in the men's 1500m, clocking a personal best of 3:36.72. Japan's Kazuto Iizawa took gold, while Nagiya Mori won bronze. Yoonus Shah finished ninth in 3:43.88.

Parul Chaudhary added another bronze in the women's 5000m with 15:14.61, her second medal of the Games after her 3000m steeplechase bronze on Sunday. Bahrain's Winfred Yavi won gold, and Japan's Nozomi Tanaka took silver.

Avinash Sable finished fourth in the men's 3000m steeplechase despite recording a season's best 8:21.67. Japan's Ryuji Miura won gold in a Games record 8:17.36.

Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan finished seventh in the men's 400m hurdles, while Seema Kaliramna was fourth in the women's discus throw with 59.88m.