The Indian athletics campaign capped off on a high note in Nagoya on Tuesday, September 29, when the women’s 4 x 400m relay team secured India’s first athletics gold in the 2026 Asian Games, and the men followed with a bronze in the same event. Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj finished in 3:29.69, ahead of Bahrain and China. Later in the evening, Dharamveer Choudhary,Manu,Thekkinalil, Jay Kumar and Vishal Thennarasu recorded 3:01.61for third place in the men’s final. The two relay results came on a day, which also saw Gulveer Singh complete a three-medal tally and Pooja Singh bag another bronze in the high jump.

India Women Claim 4x400m Relay Gold

The Indian women led the way in the 4x400m relay final with a time of 33:29.69; second was Bahrain at 3:20.21, and China finished third in 3:31.02. Kiran Pahal, Poovamma Machettira, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj have won the gold for the country. This was also the first time ever that India bagged gold in athletics at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Vithya Ramraj ran the anchor leg and brought India home faster than Bahrain. The gold also added to her medal tally in these games, having already added two medals from these Games to her collection in individual events. The synergy behind the win is significant. It was a considerable achievement for the Indian athletics team. The relay victory provided the gold that had been missing from the athletics tally.

Men Finish Third After Season-Best Effort

The Indian men also secured a bronze in the 4x400m relay in 3:01.61. The team consisted of Dharamveer Choudhary, Manu Thekkinalil, Jay Kumar and Vishal Thennarasu. Japan had won the race in 3:00.75, and Qatar had gone on to secure silver in 3:00.93. India finished behind Japan by 0.86 seconds.

The Indians had travelled to the final with the fastest season’s best in 3:00.32, which had also been the fastest in the field. The race was very competitive, and India hovered around the medals before Vishal Thennarasu put in a good anchor leg to help them get back into third. The bronze also definitively ended India’s athletics events at these Games.

Mixed Relay Team Adds Another Bronze

India had already won another by the time of this relay event earlier this Tuesday in the mixed 4x100m relay. Gurindervir Singh, Sneha Sathyanarayana, Animesh Kujur, and Harita Bhadra finished third in 41.06 seconds. This performance was also the Indian national record. The four men lowered the record of 41.35 seconds, held by Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha Sathyanarayana, in 2026.

In the last event of the athletics, the 4x100m mixed relay, China grabbed the gold in 40.78 seconds, and Thailand earned the silver in 40.87 seconds. It was another relay medal for India on the final day.

Gulveer Singh Completes Three-Medal Run

Gulveer Singh continued India’s athletics medal rush by bagging another bronze in the men’s 5000m at the Commonwealth Games. He clocked 13:32:75. This was his third bronze in the games, having already won silver in the men’s 1500m and 10,000m. With his bronze medal, Gulveer became the second Indian man and fourth Indian athlete to win three athletics medals at an edition of the Asian Games. Lavy Pinto, P.T. Usha, and K.M. Beenamol had earlier achieved this feat. Also, Gulveer’s run gave another podium for India in distance running, on the day entirely dedicated to relay events.

Pooja Singh Takes High Jump Bronze

Pooja Singh also managed a podium finish in the women’s high jump. Singh-Poormang’s 1.84m was several centimetres below her personal best, though it was still enough to secure the bronze. In India, Dev Kumar Meena also established a new national record in the men’s pole vault. Meena cleared 5.50m but was placed seventh, having failed to clear a higher height. Pooja Olla and Mohammad Afsal also participated in the 800m, ranking 7th and 8th respectively.

The relay medal results brought to an end a busy day of athletics for India in Nagoya. The women's gold, the men’s bronze, and the mixed relay bronze medals added to Gulveer Singh’s third medal of the championships, and the b bronze medal in the high jump by Pooja Singh completed a substantial haul of athletics medals.

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