What happened
Vithya Ramraj ran 54.75 seconds in the 2026 Asian Games 400m hurdles final in Nagoya, breaking PT Usha's 55.42 second national record set in 1984.
Why it matters
India now has a new women's 400m hurdles benchmark and its first woman under 55 seconds, with Ramraj ranked 35th in the world after the race.
Remember this
Under 55 for the first time in Indian women's athletics history.
More context & who is affected
Vithya Ramraj dropped to 54.75 seconds in Nagoya to dethrone PT Usha's 42-year-old 400m hurdles mark, claiming bronze at the 2026 Asian Games. Only UAE's Mariam Kareem (54.31) and Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems (54.58) were quicker on a rain-soaked track.
It was her second medal in Aichi-Nagoya — earlier the same week she shared silver in the mixed 4x400m relay — and it vaulted her from 56th to 35th in the world rankings. Her coach Nehpal Singh Rathore had been chasing low-54-second timing as a World Championships qualifier, and one lap of it finally arrived.
Usha herself called records something "meant to be broken," while Ramraj said she went for the timing, not the medal. She had merely equalled the mark at Hangzhou 2023; three years later she broke it.
- New national record
- 54.75s Ramraj's time in the 400m hurdles final at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya.The HinduIndian Express
- Previous record
- 55.42s PT Usha's mark from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, unbroken for 42 years.The Hindu
- World ranking move
- 56th → 35th Twenty-one places gained in the world rankings after the Nagoya result.The Hindu
- Medals at Aichi-Nagoya 2026
- 2 Silver in the mixed 4x400m relay plus bronze in the 400m hurdles.Indian ExpressIndia Today
Where 54.75 fits
PT Usha set the national mark at 55.42 seconds in 1984; Ramraj merely equalled it at Hangzhou 2023 before finally breaking it in Nagoya in 2026. Coach Nehpal Singh Rathore has publicly said sub-54-second timing is what gets an Indian woman to a World Championships final.
Sports Fans
A 42-year-old women's hurdles record falls, giving Indian track a new benchmark to chase.
Athletes · Students
Vithya Ramraj's ranking jumps from 56th to 35th in the world, easing her path toward World Championships.
General Public
For readers who grew up with PT Usha's name, a new generation has now formally taken over the 400m hurdles.
Reporting fromThe Hindu ↗Sportstar ↗Indian Express ↗India Today ↗
Sources & verification4 sources · 4 claims
These are the records behind this briefing. Linked reporting is not the same as independent confirmation.
- The HinduReporting
Vithya Ramraj's record run: How far has India come in the 400m hurdles? ↗
Published Oct 4, 2026 · Accessed Oct 7, 2026 - SportstarReportingPublished Sep 28, 2026 · Accessed Oct 7, 2026
- Indian ExpressReporting
Vithya Ramraj beats PT Usha's four-decade-old record for Asian Games bronze ↗
Published Sep 28, 2026 · Accessed Oct 7, 2026 - India TodayReporting
Asian Games: Vithya Ramraj breaks PT Usha's record, wins 400m hurdles bronze ↗
Published Sep 28, 2026 · Accessed Oct 7, 2026
Claims and linked sources
Vithya Ramraj clocked 54.75 seconds in Nagoya, breaking PT Usha's 55.42 second mark that stood for 42 years.
She became the first Indian woman to break the 55-second barrier in the 400m hurdles, cutting 0.67 seconds.
Ramraj took bronze behind UAE's Mariam Kareem (54.31) and Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems (54.58) in the 400m hurdles final.
It was her second medal at Aichi-Nagoya, adding to the silver she won earlier in the mixed 4x400m relay.
Community reactions
Community signals
Signal-only · not reporting“This race will not come again. Today was my day, so I went for timing. Not for a medal.”
“Records are meant to be broken.”
