India's Vithya Ramraj on Monday won a bronze medal in the women's 400m hurdles event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, as the country's total medal tally moved past the 40-mark by day 10.
Clocking a personal best of 54.75 seconds, she not only beat her own record, but also broke veteran runner P.T. Usha's 42-year national record, becoming the first Indian woman to break the 55-second barrier.
The 28-year-old from Coimbatore bested Usha's 55.42-second effort at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, finishing bronze behind Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems, who took silver with a personal best of 54.58 seconds, and the UAE's Mariam Kareem, who won gold and clinched the Asian Games record of 54.31 seconds.
Usha, who currently heads the Indian Olympic Association, is in attendance at the Games.
Notably, today's medal was also her second at the event, following the silver she won in the 4x400m mixed relay event.
Kapil Pokhariya took India's medal tally to 41 after he defeated South Korea’s Gichae Kim in a one-sided match on Monday, securing a medal for himself at the quarterfinals of the men’s 90kg boxing event.
Runner Gulveer Singh struck silver in the men's 1500m on Monday as well, beating China's Xioheng Xi and falling behind Japan's Nagiya Mori.
Earlier, Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning Commonwealth Games champion Priya Ghanghas had also managed to secure medals in boxing.
Lovlina secured a second consecutive Asian Games podium finish by moving to the semifinals, while Priya Ghanghas advanced to the last-four stage.
Lovlina dominated in the quarterfinals with a commanding 5-0 win over South Korea’s Seong Suyeon in the women’s 75kg category. Priya came from behind to also register a unanimous-decision victory in the 60kg quarterfinals.
