Nagoya, September 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India concluded its athletics campaign at the 2026 Asian Games with a bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay, as the Indian quartet clocked 3:01.61 at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya on Tuesday.
The Indian team, comprising Dharamveer Choudhary, Manu Theekkinil, Jay Kumar and Vishal Thennarasu, finished third in a competitive final, capping a successful day for the country’s relay athletes after the women’s 4x400m team had secured gold earlier.
Japan clinched the gold medal in 3:00.75, while Qatar took silver with a time of 3:00.93. India finished 0.86 seconds behind the Japanese team.
Dharamveer Choudhary gave India a steady start before handing over to Manu Theekkinil, with the team remaining in medal contention. Manu faced a crowded field during the second leg and had to navigate around other runners, leaving India in fourth place when Jay Kumar took over.
Jay produced a strong run to move India into the medal positions and briefly push the team into second place behind Japan. India slipped back to fourth during the final exchange, but Vishal Thennarasu delivered a strong anchor leg, making up ground to secure the bronze medal.
India had entered the final with a season-best time of 3:00.32, the fastest among the finalists. Japan had a season-best of 3:00.19 and went on to convert that form into gold.
Earlier in the day, India’s women’s 4x400m relay team claimed gold with a time of 3:29.69. The quartet of Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj finished ahead of Bahrain, which took silver in 3:30.21, while China secured bronze in 3:31.02.
Vithya Ramraj produced a strong anchor leg to bring India home for the gold medal. The victory took her medal tally at the Games to three, following her earlier silver and bronze medals in individual events.
India had also won bronze in the mixed 4x100m relay earlier on Tuesday. The quartet of Gurindervir Singh, Sneha Sathyanarayana, Animesh Kujur and Harita Bhadra clocked 41.06 seconds to finish third and set a new national record.
The Indian team bettered the previous national record of 41.35 seconds, set by Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha Sathyanarayana at the World Relays 2026 in Gaborone.
China won the mixed relay gold in 40.78 seconds, while Thailand secured silver in 40.87 seconds.
India’s medals in the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays and the mixed 4x100m relay marked a strong finish to the country’s athletics campaign at the Asian Games.
FOLLOW NOW
