India produced a stunning finish to win gold in the women’s 4x400m relay , clocking 3:29.69 and holding off Bahrain and China.
Kiran Machettira gave India a steady start but handed over the baton in third place. Veteran M.R. Poovamma then produced a strong second leg to move India into the lead, before Prachi Ramraj maintained the advantage through the third leg.
That left Vithya Ramraj with the responsibility of bringing India home. And the Indian anchor delivered. She surged clear after receiving the baton and resisted a fierce late challenge from Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasr, who received the baton in last place but powered through the field in the closing stages.
Nasr managed to chase down the other contenders, but could not overhaul Vithya, who held her composure to bring India across the line first. Notably, India stopped the clock at 3:29.69, finishing 0.52 seconds ahead of Bahrain, which took silver in 3:30.21. China claimed bronze with 3:31.02.
Meanwhile, the victory added another medal to Vithya’s remarkable Games campaign. She had broken PT Usha’s long-standing Indian record in the 400m hurdles just a day earlier and now added relay gold to her tally.
Men’s and mixed team claims bronze in 4x400m
India secured bronze in the men’s 4x400m relay at the Asian Games, clocking 3:01.61 to finish behind Japan and Qatar. The Indian quartet of Dharmveer Choudhary, Manu T, Jay Kumar and Vishal TK produced a determined performance, with Manu and Vishal delivering strong efforts on the second and fourth legs.
Japan took gold in 3:00.75, while Qatar finished second in 3:00.93, just 0.18 seconds behind the hosts. India, the defending champions, had to settle for bronze after being unable to close the gap on the leading pair. The result denied the team a gold medal double after India’s women won their relay title.
On the other hand, India’s mixed team also settled for bronze in the 4x100m relay at the Asian Games, clocking 41.06 seconds to finish behind China and Thailand. Gurindervir Singh gave India a strong start before Sneha kept the team in contention. Animesh then faced a challenge from Thailand’s Boonson, but Harita delivered a powerful anchor leg to secure third place.
China took gold in 40.78 seconds, followed by Thailand in 40.87. India finished 0.28 seconds behind the winners.