India bag silver in mixed 4x400m relay after Vithya's stunning finish
India clinched the silver medal in the mixed 4x400m relay at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, with a stunning final-leg effort from Vithya Ramraj helping the quartet finish second behind Bahrain. The medal took India's overall tally at the Games to 17.
The Indian team of Vishal Thennarasu, Poovamma Raju, Manu TS and Vithya Ramraj clocked 3:14.46 in the final to successfully defend the silver medal they won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Vishal started the race for India but could not make much ground early on. Poovamma then took over and India risked slipping out of the medal positions before a strong burst in the final 50 metres brought the team back into contention. She handed the baton to Manu with India in third.
Manu kept India firmly in the race before handing over to Vithya for the final leg. The Indian anchor, known for her strong finishing ability, produced another superb final lap. With India seemingly heading for bronze, Vithya timed her surge perfectly in the closing stages, powering past the bronze-medal position to move India into second.Silver shine in Nagoya!Tiranga up, arms raised: pure joy from our Mixed 4x400m relay stars after a thrilling 3:14.46Poovamma M.R. | Vishal T.K. | Vithya Ramraj | Manu T.S. #AsianGames2026 #TeamIndia #IndianAthletics #Nagoya2026 pic.twitter.com/hvO0jMuPIn— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) September 24, 2026Bahrain had already established a clear lead, with Salwa Eid Nasser anchoring the team to gold in a Games-record 3:12.87. India finished second in 3:14.46, while Vietnam claimed bronze in 3:14.54.
The result meant India repeated its silver-medal finish from Hangzhou in the mixed 4x400m relay. It was another productive day for Indian athletics, with Seema Kumari also winning a landmark bronze medal in the women's 10,000m final.
Seema clocked 32:50.05 to end India's 16-year wait for a medal in the women's 10,000m at the Asian Games. With the two athletics medals on Thursday, India's overall medal tally at the Games moved to 17. - Ends
