Prachi Choudhary Wins A 'Special Medal' For India In women's 400m At Asian Games 2026

India's Prachi Choudhary after winning an Asian Games bronze medal.© PTI

India's Prachi Choudhary won a bronze medal in women's 400m final at the Asian Games on Saturday. Prachi bagged the third place with a timing of 53.21seconds. Salwa Naser of Bahrain, expectedly, won the gold with a Games record of 49.20s, while the silver went to Iran's Zahra Zarei Manoujan who clocked 52.38s. The other Indian in the line-up, Kiran Pahal finished fifth with a timing of 53.41s. A delighted Prachi has now set her sights on the 4x400m relay but said she has proved her mettle in the individual event on Saturday.

"This is a very special medal for me because people kept on telling me that I can win medals only in relays. Today I have proved that I can also win medal in individual 400m also, that too in Asian Games," Prachi said.

"I had run and trained under rain so many times, so it was not new to me," she said taking about the rainy conditions on Saturday. 

Jyothi Yarraji Pulls Out

Last edition's silver medal winner 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji on Saturday pulled out of the first round heat race here after "feeling pain" during warm-up, a top official of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said.
Yarraji was earlier named in the 75-member Indian athletics team after getting fitness clearance at the last minute. She was carrying a minor stress on her knee.

"She felt pain after full warm-up," the official told PTI.

Yarraji made a comeback this year after she underwent surgery in July 2025 to repair an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear in her right knee.

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