India enjoyed a productive day in athletics at the Asian Games 2026 on Thursday, winning two medals within a span of around 20 minutes. Seema Kumari secured bronze in the women’s 10,000m final before India’s mixed 4x400m relay quartet claimed silver in a closely contested race.
Seema became the first Indian athlete to win a medal in the women’s 10,000m at the Asian Games since 2010. Her bronze was also only India’s third medal in the event in Asian Games history. She completed the race in 32:50.05, staying in medal contention for much of the competition before securing third place.
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Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won the gold medal with a time of 32:39.18, while Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka finished second in 32:41.54. Seema held her position through the closing stages to secure the bronze and add another medal to India’s growing tally.
The second athletics medal came shortly afterwards in the mixed 4x400m relay. Poovamma MR, Vishal Thennarasu, Vithya Ramraj and Manu TS combined to finish second in an extremely close final.
India initially found themselves on the back foot, but the team recovered strongly in the later stages of the race. Vishal Thennarasu and Vithya Ramraj produced important runs in the final two legs, helping India move into medal contention.
India eventually finished ahead of Vietnam by just eight milliseconds in a photo finish. The silver continued the country’s strong record in the mixed 4x400m relay at the Asian Games. India had previously won gold in the event in 2018 and silver in 2022.
The two medals took India’s overall Asian Games 2026 tally to 17, comprising one gold, seven silver and nine bronze medals. Five medals were added to India’s tally during the day, making it one of the country’s most productive days at the Games so far.
There were also several notable performances in other athletics events. Sprinters Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh both advanced to the men’s 100m semi-finals. Animesh finished third in his heat with a time of 10.36 seconds, while Gurindervir came second in his heat after clocking 10.38 seconds. The semi-finals are scheduled for Friday.
In the women’s triple jump, Asha Ilango narrowly missed out on a medal. She recorded a best jump of 13.83 metres, matching China’s Yi Li, who secured the bronze medal. Asha, however, was placed fourth because Li had the better second-best attempt.
Niharika Vashisht, the other Indian competing in the triple jump final, finished 10th with a best effort of 13.00 metres and was eliminated after the first three attempts.
India also had two competitors in the heptathlon, with Pooja and Anamika Aneesh continuing their campaigns. After the shot put and 200m events, the two athletes remained outside the medal positions, with three events still to be completed.
India’s athletics campaign will continue on Friday, with the men’s 100m semi-finals among the events drawing attention after Animesh and Gurindervir successfully advanced from their heats.
The two medals won on Thursday provided a significant addition to India’s overall tally, while several other athletes remained in contention for further medals as the Asian Games entered another crucial stage.
