India Women Win 4x400m Relay Gold at Asian Games 2026

India secured its first athletics gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games when Kiran Pahal, Poovamma Machettira, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj won the women’s 4x400m relay on Tuesday. The Indian quartet clocked 3:29.69 to take the title, with Bahrain finishing second and China third.

The relay victory delivered India’s first top-place finish in track and field at the ongoing Games. It also capped a productive day for the Indian athletics contingent, which added medals across relay events, the high jump and the men’s 5000m.

Women’s relay delivers India’s first athletics title

Pahal, Poovamma Machettira, Prachi and Ramraj combined for an exceptional run in the women’s 4x400m final, producing 3:29.69 for the gold medal. Bahrain and China followed India onto the podium in second and third place respectively.

The result gave India a significant breakthrough in athletics at the continental multisport event. Before the women’s 4x400m final, India had collected podium finishes but had not yet won gold in track and field competition.

The women’s relay team’s performance stood out as the day’s leading Indian athletics result, with all four runners contributing to a winning time that placed them ahead of the Bahraini and Chinese quartets.

India also earned bronze in the 4x100m mixed relay final through Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Sneha Sathyanarayana and Harita Bhadra. The team recorded a season-best 41.06 seconds. China won gold in 40.78 seconds, while Thailand claimed silver in 40.87 seconds.

In the women’s high jump, Pooja Singh took bronze after clearing 1.84m. The mark was below her personal best but was enough to secure a place on the podium.

Gulveer Singh added another bronze for India in the men’s 5000m, finishing in 13:32.75. It was his third podium finish of the 2026 Asian Games after earlier silver medals in the men’s 1500m and 10000m.

More relay and field-event results for India

The men’s 4x400m relay team of Dharamveer Choudhary, Manu Thekkinalil, Jay Kumar and Vishal Thennarasu also finished third. India clocked 3:01.61 in the final, behind Japan and Qatar.

Gulveer’s 5000m bronze made him the second Indian man and the fourth Indian athlete to win three track and field medals in a single edition of the Asian Games. The source noted previous comparable feats by Lavy Pinto at New Delhi 1951, PT Usha at Seoul 1986 and KM Beenamol at Busan 2002.

Elsewhere, Tanya Chaudhary finished fourth in the women’s hammer throw with 65.35m, while Anushka Yadav was fifth with 64.56m. Dev Kumar Meena set a national record of 5.50m in the men’s pole vault but finished seventh.

Pooja Olla and Mohammed Afsal placed seventh and eighth respectively in the women’s and men’s 800m. The women’s 4x400m title, however, remained the defining Indian athletics moment of the day, as the quartet delivered the country’s first gold in the sport at the 2026 Asian Games.