Sports · Running & Athletics · 2 hrs ago
Vithya Ramraj breaks 42-year national record and wins three Asian Games medals
Coimbatore athlete Vithya Ramraj won three medals at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
She took bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles, gold in the women’s 4x400m relay and silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.
Her 54.75-second hurdles run broke P.T. Usha’s 42-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds, set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
It also made Ramraj the first Indian woman to run the event in under 55 seconds.
Ramraj, 28, is from Meenakshipuram in Coimbatore, where she returned to a village welcome after the Games.
Her family helped fund her training, and she credits coach Nehpal Singh Rathore with helping her reach the top level.
She now aims to perform better at the upcoming World Championships and Olympic Games.
Vithya Ramraj broke the 42-year-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
She clocked 54.75 seconds, improving on P.T. Usha’s 55.42-second mark set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Ramraj also won gold in the women’s 4x400m relay and silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.
The 28-year-old athlete returned to her native village of Meenakshipuram in Coimbatore on October 3.
Ramraj credited coach Nehpal Singh Rathore with helping her reach the highest level.
- Who
- Vithya Ramraj, a 28-year-old athlete from Meenakshipuram in Coimbatore.
- What
- She broke the national record in the women’s 400m hurdles and won three Asian Games medals.
- When
- She won the hurdles bronze on September 28, 2026, and returned to her village on October 3.
- Where
- At the 2026 Asian Games in Japan and in Meenakshipuram, Coimbatore.
- Why
- She credited coach Nehpal Singh Rathore for helping her build the discipline and endurance needed to compete at the highest level.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
P.T. Usha set the 55.42-second national record at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Vithya Ramraj equalled Usha’s national record.
Ramraj won bronze in the Asian Games women’s 400m hurdles in 54.75 seconds, and also won relay gold and silver at the Games.
Ramraj returned to Meenakshipuram in a procession from Nachipalayam.
- Hurdles time
- 54.75 seconds
- Previous national record
- 55.42 seconds, set by P.T. Usha in 1984
- Hurdles medal
- Bronze, women’s 400m hurdles
- Relay medals
- Gold in the women’s 4x400m relay; silver in the mixed 4x400m relay
- Home village
- Meenakshipuram, Coimbatore
What people are saying
Setting the record is a proud moment, but I know there is more to achieve.
If not for him, I would not have reached this level.
I was sad in 2023 that I could not break the record. Now, I am happy that I have done it.
There were times when we did not have enough income to support her athletics.