India's men's 4x400m relay wins bronze at Asian Games
India's men's 4x400m relay team clinches bronze at the Asian Games 2026, following a spectacular gold medal performance by the women's relay team.
India's athletics campaign reached new heights at the Asian Games 2026 as the men's 4x400m relay team secured a hard-fought bronze medal. Following a golden day for the women's team, the men's quartet proved their mettle in a high-octane final that saw the top three teams separated by a mere fraction of a second.
A Thrilling Race in Aichi-Nagoya
The Indian men's team, consisting of Dharmveer Choudhary, Manu Thekkinalil, Jay Kumar, and Vishal Thennarasu, delivered a powerhouse performance to finish third. The quartet clocked a time of 3:01.61, holding their ground in a race where every millisecond mattered.
The competition was fierce, with the podium positions decided by incredibly slim margins:
- Gold: Japan (3:00.75)
- Silver: Qatar (3:00.93)
- Bronze: India (3:01.61)
Despite entering the final as the fastest qualifiers, the Indian men had to battle through a relentless charge from the Japanese and Qatari sides to ensure they stayed on the podium.
Double Glory for India's Relay Teams
The men's bronze was the perfect follow-up to a historic morning for Indian athletics. Earlier in the day, the women's 4x400m relay team stunned the competition to claim the gold medal. The women's squad—comprising Kiran, Machettira Poovamma, Prachi, and Vithya Ramraj—clocked 3:29.69 to finish ahead of Bahrain (3:30.21) and China (3:31.02).
Vithya Ramraj emerged as a standout star of the games, adding this relay gold to the bronze medal she had previously secured in the women's 400m hurdles.
A Golden Day for Indian Shooting and Athletics
The relay successes were part of a broader wave of dominance for Team India at the Aichi-Nagoya games. The day was already marked by a historic feat in the shooting range, where Neeru Dhanda became the first Indian woman to win an individual medal in the women's trap event.
Dhanda's gold-winning performance, where she scored 28/30, provided India with its second gold medal in shooting at the 2026 Asian Games, setting a high-performance tone for the rest of the contingent.