Vithya Ramraj wins bronze in 400m hurdles, breaks PT Usha's 40-year-old national record

India’s Vithya Ramraj clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Asian Games on Monday, rewriting a more than four-decade-old national record held by legendary athlete PT Usha.

The 28-year-old from Coimbatore clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to better Usha’s 55.42-second mark set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Usha, who now heads the Indian Olympic Association, was in attendance at the Games.

UAE’s Mariam Kareem won the gold in a Games-record 54.31 seconds, while Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems took silver with a personal best of 54.58 seconds.

Ramraj added the bronze to the silver she won in the 4x400m mixed relay earlier in the Games, making it her second medal in Nagoya.

India’s Anu Raghavan finished fifth with a personal best of 55.88 seconds.

Earlier, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Seema Kaliramna narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the women’s discus throw, finishing fourth.

Kaliramna produced her best effort of 59.88m in her fifth attempt, but all three medal winners recorded throws beyond the 60m mark.