Vithya Ramraj breaks PT Usha's 42-year-old 400m hurdles record for Asian Games bronze

Vithya Ramraj broke PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles, clocking a personal best of 54.75 seconds to win bronze at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya.

She had earlier equalled Usha’s 55.42-second mark at Hangzhou in 2023.

A trucker’s daughter from Coimbatore, Ramraj has since represented India at the Paris Olympics and won another bronze at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships.