India wins first athletics gold at Asiad
The Indian quartet of Kiran Pahal, Poovamma Machettira, Prachi, Vithya Ramraj produced an exceptional performance to claim the gold medal in the women’s 4x400m relay at the 2026 Asian Games here on Tuesday.
The Indian team won the top prize with a time of 3:29.69 minutes, giving the country its first gold medal in track and field events at the ongoing games. Bahrain and China finished second and third respectively. Earlier, Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Sneha Sathyanarayana and Harita Bhadra won the bronze medal in the 4x100m mixed relay final after clocking a season best time of 41.06 seconds.
India’s Pooja Singh fared well below her personal best with a leap of 1.84 metre but that was enough to clinch a bronze medal in women’s high jump. This was after India’s Gulveer Singh continued his spectacular run of form at the ongoing games by winning a bronze medal in men’s 5000m with a time of 13:32.75, completing a hat-trick of podium finishes in the Japanese city.
This is Gulveer’s third podium finishes at the 2026 games, having won silver medals in men’s 1500m and 10000m events earlier in the multisport extravaganza. Gulveer thus became the second Indian man and fourth from the country to win three medals in track and field events in a single edition of the continental games. Before Gulveer, Lavy Pinto, PT Usha and KM Beenamol (Busan 2002, 3 medals) had achieved a similar feat. After Gulveer, the Indian quartet ended third with a time of 41.06 in 4x400m mixed relay, having finished second behind China in the heats. China won the gold with a time of 40.78 seconds, while Thailand took silver after finishing in 40.87 seconds.
India’s Dev Kumar Meena created a national record in men’s pole vault with an effort of 5.50m but that was only enough to take him to seventh position. India’s Pooja Olla and Mohammed Afsal finished seventh and eighth respectively in men’s and women’s 800m.
