Four Indian women stepped onto the track with one final chance for athletics gold. Vithya Ramraj’s stunning finish turned that chance into victory.
India’s athletics campaign at the Asian Games had gone through the week without a gold medal. Then, on Tuesday night at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, four Indian women changed that in one race.
The women’s 4x400m relay was India’s final chance to win an athletics gold. Kiran Pahal, Prachi Chaudhary, MR Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj made sure the opportunity did not slip away.
Kiran Pahal ran the opening leg and gave India a solid start. Prachi Chaudhary took the baton next and kept India within reach of the leaders. Then came MR Poovamma, the experienced member of the team who has been part of India’s relay success for years.
Poovamma stayed composed under pressure and handed the baton to Vithya Ramraj with India still firmly in contention.
Vithya had already made headlines a day earlier after breaking PT Usha’s long-standing national record in the 400m hurdles. Now she had one more job to finish.
She took the baton in the final leg with Bahrain and China still ahead. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the Paris Olympics silver medallist, was one of the athletes standing between India and gold.
Vithya did not wait.
She pushed hard through the bend and began closing the gap. Her pace increased as she entered the final straight. By the time she reached the finish line, India had moved into first place.
The clock stopped at 3:29.69.
India had its gold.
For Kiran, Prachi, Poovamma and Vithya, the celebration began immediately. The four athletes embraced as the Indian flag came out and the significance of the win sank in.
It was India’s only athletics gold of the Games, but it meant more than a single medal.
India had dominated the women’s 4x400m relay at the Asian Games for years. The team won five consecutive gold medals from 2002 to 2018. At Hangzhou in 2023, India had to settle for silver.
That made the Nagoya victory particularly significant.
Poovamma had been part of several of India’s successful relay teams and was also part of the silver-winning team at Hangzhou. After the race, she spoke about the motivation within the team.
“Everybody has been saying that there was no gold medal in athletics, so we were motivated to win the gold for the country. We are proud of the achievement.”
Vithya also credited her teammates for putting her in a position to finish strongly.
“I had to push more. Then came the finish line… My teammates gave me the distance and because of that I was able to maintain the gap.”
That sentence explains the relay better than any medal table can.
A 4x400m race is never about one athlete. Kiran had to establish the start. Prachi had to keep India in contention. Poovamma had to manage the pressure and hand over cleanly. Vithya had to finish the job.
Each leg demanded something different.
Kiran brought stability. Prachi kept the race alive. Poovamma brought experience. Vithya provided the final burst that took India past its rivals.
The victory also came at a time when Indian athletics had been searching for a breakthrough at these Games. The team had collected silver and bronze medals, but the gold had remained out of reach.
The relay team changed that in less than four minutes.
For young athletes watching from training grounds across India, the race offers another reminder of what relay running demands. Success does not come from the final runner alone. It is built through four separate efforts, four handovers and the ability of each athlete to trust the one coming next.
That is what made the victory special.
India did not leave Nagoya with a collection of athletics gold medals. It left with one. But that one came in an event with a long history of Indian success and ended a wait that had lasted since the last Asian Games gold in the women’s 4x400m relay.
Kiran Pahal, Prachi Chaudhary, MR Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj will now be remembered as the quartet that brought the title back.
And Vithya’s final surge will be the image of the night.
The baton reached her with the race still open. She took it forward, chased down the leaders and crossed the line first.
India’s athletics gold drought was over.
India’s athletics campaign at the Asian Games had gone through the week without a gold medal. Then, on Tuesday night at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, four Indian women changed that in one race.
The women’s 4x400m relay was India’s final chance to win an athletics gold. Kiran Pahal, Prachi Chaudhary, MR Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj made sure the opportunity did not slip away.
Kiran Pahal ran the opening leg and gave India a solid start. Prachi Chaudhary took the baton next and kept India within reach of the leaders. Then came MR Poovamma, the experienced member of the team who has been part of India’s relay success for years.
Poovamma stayed composed under pressure and handed the baton to Vithya Ramraj with India still firmly in contention.
Vithya had already made headlines a day earlier after breaking PT Usha’s long-standing national record in the 400m hurdles. Now she had one more job to finish.
She took the baton in the final leg with Bahrain and China still ahead. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the Paris Olympics silver medallist, was one of the athletes standing between India and gold.
Vithya did not wait.
She pushed hard through the bend and began closing the gap. Her pace increased as she entered the final straight. By the time she reached the finish line, India had moved into first place.
The clock stopped at 3:29.69.
India had its gold.
For Kiran, Prachi, Poovamma and Vithya, the celebration began immediately. The four athletes embraced as the Indian flag came out and the significance of the win sank in.
It was India’s only athletics gold of the Games, but it meant more than a single medal.
India had dominated the women’s 4x400m relay at the Asian Games for years. The team won five consecutive gold medals from 2002 to 2018. At Hangzhou in 2023, India had to settle for silver.
That made the Nagoya victory particularly significant.
Poovamma had been part of several of India’s successful relay teams and was also part of the silver-winning team at Hangzhou. After the race, she spoke about the motivation within the team.
“Everybody has been saying that there was no gold medal in athletics, so we were motivated to win the gold for the country. We are proud of the achievement.”
Vithya also credited her teammates for putting her in a position to finish strongly.
“I had to push more. Then came the finish line… My teammates gave me the distance and because of that I was able to maintain the gap.”
That sentence explains the relay better than any medal table can.
A 4x400m race is never about one athlete. Kiran had to establish the start. Prachi had to keep India in contention. Poovamma had to manage the pressure and hand over cleanly. Vithya had to finish the job.
Each leg demanded something different.
Kiran brought stability. Prachi kept the race alive. Poovamma brought experience. Vithya provided the final burst that took India past its rivals.
The victory also came at a time when Indian athletics had been searching for a breakthrough at these Games. The team had collected silver and bronze medals, but the gold had remained out of reach.
The relay team changed that in less than four minutes.
For young athletes watching from training grounds across India, the race offers another reminder of what relay running demands. Success does not come from the final runner alone. It is built through four separate efforts, four handovers and the ability of each athlete to trust the one coming next.
That is what made the victory special.
India did not leave Nagoya with a collection of athletics gold medals. It left with one. But that one came in an event with a long history of Indian success and ended a wait that had lasted since the last Asian Games gold in the women’s 4x400m relay.
Kiran Pahal, Prachi Chaudhary, MR Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj will now be remembered as the quartet that brought the title back.
And Vithya’s final surge will be the image of the night.
The baton reached her with the race still open. She took it forward, chased down the leaders and crossed the line first.
India’s athletics gold drought was over.
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