Exclusive: Why Vithya Ramraj And Co Couldn't Stop Thinking About The National Anthem At Asian Games 2026

Before Tuesday, Vithya Ramraj had twice climbed the podium at the Asian Games 2026. She was part of the mixed 4x400m relay team that won the silver medal and also went on to break PT Usha's 42-year-old record, clocking a personal best of 54.75 seconds on her way to clinching bronze in the 400m hurdles. Yet, one dream remained. "I had never experienced the national anthem from the podium," Vithya said. That dream was fulfilled as the women's 4x400m relay team, comprising Prachi Choudhary, Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj, combined to win gold in the event with a time of 3:29.69. This was the first and only gold medal that India won in athletics at the Asian Games 2026.

"We all wanted to experience the national anthem from the podium," Vithya told NDTV about the campaign. Vithya ran the anchor leg of the relay team.

"All three of them ran such good legs. After seeing them, I also wanted to do it, and that pushed me over the finish line."

Kiran, who ran the opening leg, described the feeling when Vithya was running the final leg.

"Vithya was running the anchor leg, but it felt like we were all running the final leg," she said.

"We all wanted to hug Vithya very badly," added Poovamma. "Our strategy was to gain as big an advantage over the Bahrain team as possible. We knew that Salwa Eid Naser is a great athlete, and we wanted to give Vithya as much of a lead as possible going into the anchor leg."

"Representing the country in a relay gives a very different feeling from competing in individual races. When we have the baton in our hands, we perform better."

Prachi, who is from Uttar Pradesh, then described the qualities of her three teammates.

"Poovamma Didi gets hyper very quickly. She doesn't have much patience. Vithya is very silent and calm, and she is positive. Kiran is also fairly quiet. She is very focused during training," she said

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