Vithya Ramraj won 400m hurdles bronze at the Asian Games in 54.75s, breaking P.T. Usha’s 42-year-old record; CM Vijay announced ₹30 lakh. With her relay medals, the state has given her ₹1.55 crore.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has announced a cash award of ₹30 lakh for Coimbatore athlete Vithya Ramraj, who won the bronze medal in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya, Japan — clocking 54.75 seconds to break a national record that had stood for 42 years.
Vithya won the bronze on Monday, September 28, in the 400m hurdles final. Her time of 54.75 seconds broke P.T. Usha’s national record of 55.42 seconds, set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics — making her the first Indian woman to run the event in under 55 seconds. She had equalled Usha’s mark at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou before surpassing it in Japan (Khel Now, SeePositive, The Tribune).
In his message, the Chief Minister congratulated Vithya for making Tamil Nadu and India proud, and announced the ₹30 lakh award on behalf of the state government (Khel Now, Technosports).
| Event | Result | State award |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed 4×400m relay | Silver | ₹50 lakh |
| Women’s 400m hurdles | Bronze — national record | ₹30 lakh |
| Women’s 4×400m relay | Gold | ₹75 lakh |
| Total from the Tamil Nadu government | ₹1.55 crore | |
The relay gold followed the next day: ₹75 lakh for Vithya Ramraj after the women’s 4×400m relay gold.
Vithya Ramraj is a quarter-miler and 400m hurdler from Coimbatore. She won the 400m hurdles bronze at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, and represented India at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her identical twin, Nithya Ramraj, is also an international hurdler.
Sources: Khel Now, SeePositive, Technosports, The Tribune, Ground News, Wikipedia.
Asian Games 2026 Athletics Day 142