As Vithya Ramraj entered the final stretch of the 400m hurdles in Aichi-Nagoya, the race for gold was still open for India at the 2026 Asian Games. Vithya and the UAE\u2019s Mariam Kareem were neck-and-neck over the final two hurdles, with Kazakhstan\u2019s Adelina Zems just behind them. But at the last hurdle, Vithya lost some ground as Mariam surged ahead to take gold in a Games-record 54.31 seconds, while Adelina moved past Vithya to claim silver in 54.58. The Indian crossed the line third in 54.75.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u200bBut by then, the colour of the medal had become almost secondary. Vithya had done what she had been trying to do since 2023, when she equalled P.T. Usha\u2019s 55.42-second national record that had stood for more than 40 years. She was 0.67 seconds faster than Usha and became the first Indian woman to break the 55-second barrier in the 400m hurdles. \u201cI met Usha ma\u2019am a year ago, and she said, \u2018Go for 54 seconds.\u2019 She encouraged me. So doing this today makes me so happy,\u201d the 28-year-old said.<\/p>\n
She is now the fastest Indian woman in the event, but her record places her 187th on the all-time world list.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That list is led by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, followed by Femke Bol and Dalilah Muhammad, whose bests are 50.37, 50.95 and 51.58 seconds, respectively. She remains more than four seconds behind the world\u2019s fastest mark, but has moved from 56th before the Asiad to 35th in the current world rankings, putting her among the leading athletes in the event today.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/data\/2dwa8m\/article71541853.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/snapshot-17910558563902x.png\")