Chennai: Tamil cinema superstar Rajinikanth personally met with star athlete Vithya Ramraj in Chennai to congratulate her on her extraordinary, multi-medal triumph at the recently concluded Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.

The meeting was also attended by Chennai District Masters Athletic Association President M. Shenbagamoorthy and Vithya’s trainer, Nehpal Singh. During the interaction, Rajinikanth lauded the Tamil Nadu hurdler and sprinter for her outstanding accomplishments on the international stage and for bringing glory to the nation. The gesture comes just a day after actor Dhanush similarly met with the ace athlete to honor her achievements.

Vithya delivered a standout campaign in Nagoya, anchoring India’s track and field presence with a three-medal haul—spanning gold, silver, and bronze.

Her standout moment came in the women’s 400m hurdles, where she claimed the bronze medal in a thrilling final while shattering one of the most enduring marks in Indian sports history. Vithya clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds, erasing the legendary PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds—set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics—by 0.67 seconds.

She capped off her memorable Games by anchoring the Indian women’s 4x400m relay squad to a gold medal victory. Teaming up with Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma, and Prachi, Vithya executed a decisive surge around the 200m mark of the final leg to pull ahead of silver-medalists Bahrain (3:30.21) and bronze-medalists China (3:31.02), securing India's top spot on the podium. (IANS)