A 42-year-old record, a trucker’s daughter: Vithya Ramraj breaks PT Usha’s mark and rewrites history

Vithya Ramraj had already made history by matching PT Usha's 42-year-old national record, and three years later, she finally broke it.The 27-year-old Indian hurdler clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to win bronze in the women's 400m hurdles at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, breaking the national record that had belonged to legendary Usha since August 1984.In 2023, at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Ramraj had clocked 55.42 seconds to claim bronze and equal Usha's mark set at the Los Angeles Olympics on August 8, 1984. That record had stood for 39 years at the time.Asian Games Full Coverage|Medal Tally|ScheduleNow, in Nagoya, Ramraj went one better, shaving 0.67 seconds off the old national record en route to her second individual Asian Games 2026 medal.Her compatriot Anu Raghavan finished fifth in 55.88 seconds, also recording a personal best.The 26-year-old was part of India’s silver-medal winning mixed 4x400m relay team earlier in the Games, running the anchor leg and producing a strong finish to help India hold on to second place.The medal also adds to Ramraj's Asian Games record. She had won bronze in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2023 Hangzhou Games to go with to silver medals in the 4x400 relay and mixed events.A trucker’s daughter who refused to give upVithya grew up in a modest family, with her father working as a truck driver. Her mother enrolled Vithya and her twin sister Nithya, a 110m hurdler, at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu hostel in Erode. Athletics was not a carefully planned choice.“At a parent-teacher meeting, my PE teacher suggested sports for us. My mother chose athletics since it offered more visibility than team games. The sports hostel also helped, as my family couldn’t afford the expenses,” Vithya had told Times of India in 2025.After school, Vithya pursued a BBA degree under the sports quota and joined the national camp at NIS Patiala in 2018. But progress was slow. She later moved to Chennai in 2022, while a Covid infection and appendicitis surgery disrupted her preparations for the Tokyo Olympic trials.“In Patiala, I didn’t get personal training, struggled with the food, and didn’t know Hindi. While preparing for the Tokyo Olympic trials, I got Covid and later underwent appendicitis surgery. I had to leave camp and return home,” she had told Times of India.Her twin Nithya, who was training under coach Nehpal Singh Rathore, then helped bring Vithya into the setup. Until 2022, Vithya had primarily concentrated on the 400m flat, but Rathore encouraged her to pursue both events and set her sights on Usha’s record.The twins subsequently made history as the first pair of twins to represent India at the Asian Games. Vithya’s breakthrough at Hangzhou included three medals - bronze in the 400m hurdles and silver medals in the women’s 4x400m relay and mixed 4x400m relay - while her record-equalling run established her as one of India’s leading 400m hurdlers.Vithya’s rise continued after Hangzhou. She represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympics as part of the women’s 4x400m relay team, before adding another major international podium finish with bronze in the 400m hurdles at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.“The same villagers who once questioned our parents about sending us to Chennai for training are now celebrating us,” she had told Times of India.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.