Vithya Ramraj breaks PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record

Indian athlete Vithya Ramraj has broken PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles. Ramraj clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to secure a bronze medal at the Asian Games, surpassing Usha’s previous record of 55.42 seconds set during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

In addition to the record-breaking hurdles performance, Ramraj won three medals at the Games: gold in the women’s 4x400m relay, silver in the mixed 4x400m relay, and the bronze in the 400m hurdles.

Upon her return to Coimbatore, Ramraj credited her coach, Nehpal Singh Rathore, for her success and emphasized that coaches should receive similar government recognition as athletes. She expressed hope that her achievement would inspire younger athletes to pursue sports and believe in their ability to break long-standing records.