Vithya Ramraj has emerged as one of the biggest stars of Indian athletics during the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. On Tuesday, September 29, she ran the anchor leg for India in the women’s 4x400m relay, and powered the quartet of Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma, Prachi and Ramraj to win gold in the time of 3:29.69. It was India’s first athletics gold medal at these Games. There was no doubt about India clinching Gold once Vithya got the baton.
The final lap once again demonstrated why Ramraj has become such an important member of India’s relay team. India entered the final leg in a competitive position, and Ramraj held off a strong challenge from Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasr to bring the baton home first. The victory also gave Ramraj her third medal of the Games, adding gold to the silver she won in the mixed 4x400m relay and the bronze she secured in the individual 400m hurdles.
Her individual performance has been equally remarkable. In the women’s 400m hurdles, Ramraj clocked 54.75 seconds to win bronze and, more significantly, broke P.T. Usha’s 42-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds, and in the process, became first Indian woman athlete to break the 55 seconds barrier. PT Usha had set the record at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics which stood for 42 years. Ramraj had previously equalled that mark at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, in Japan, she finally went past it.
Ramraj had already played a crucial role earlier in the Games when she anchored India’s mixed 4x400m relay team to silver. Taking the baton in a difficult position, she produced a strong final leg to move India into second place and secure the medal.
Ramraj has contributed medals in three different relay and individual situations while establishing herself as one of India’s most dependable 400m runners.
Ramraj’s journey makes the achievement even more notable. The daughter of a truck driver, she and her twin sister Nithya entered athletics after being encouraged to pursue sport at school. Her breakthrough at the 2023 Asian Games included three medals, while she later represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympics as part of the women’s 4x400m relay squad.
From anchoring India to a gold medal in the women’s 4x400m relay to breaking one of the longest-standing records in Indian athletics, Vithya Ramraj has made herself one of the defining faces of India’s track-and-field campaign in Japan.
