Indian athlete Vithya Ramraj won the bronze medal in the women's 400m hurdles at the Asian Games on Monday, setting a new national record. The 28-year-old from Coimbatore clocked a personal best time of 54.75 seconds to surpass the historic 55.42-second mark set by PT Usha at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Usha, currently the head of the Indian Olympic Association, watched the race from the venue. Ramraj finished behind gold medalist Mariam Kareem of the UAE, who set a Games record of 54.31 seconds, and silver medalist Adelina Zems of Kazakhstan.

Dual medals and international record

This bronze is her second medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, following a silver in the mixed 4x400m relay alongside Poovamma Raju, Vishal Thennarasu, and Manu TS. During the relay, Ramraj executed a strong final leg to overtake Vietnam and secure second place in 3:14.46. Her performances mark another milestone in a career that includes competing for India at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the relay squad. She made her major international breakthrough at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, where she equalled Usha's previous national record, won three medals, and competed alongside her twin sister Nithya. The pair became the first twins to represent India at the Asian Games.

Overcoming setbacks on the track

Ramraj comes from a modest background in Tamil Nadu, where her father worked as a truck driver. To manage financial difficulty, her mother enrolled Vithya and Nithya into a sports hostel in Erode following a suggestion from a school teacher. After pursuing a BBA degree under the sports quota, Ramraj joined the national camp in Patiala in 2018. Her time in Patiala was marred by lack of individual coaching, language difficulties, a bout with COVID-19 during Olympic trials, and appendicitis surgery. Although her parents initially urged her to quit sports and find a job, she moved to Chennai in 2022 to train under coach Nehpal Singh Rathore. Rathore encouraged her to switch focus from flat races to 400m hurdles and target the national record. Her subsequent athletic success brought support from the Tamil Nadu government and celebration across her home village.