Asian Games 2023: Vithya Ramraj contemplated quitting sport to support family, wins bronze medal in 400m hurdles

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Vithya Ramraj is a name hard to miss among the star-studded athletics squad for the Asian Games 2023. The 400m hurdler scripted history with her sister Nithya Ramraj as the first twins to represent India at the continental extravaganza.

Vithya Ramraj's performance ensured that being at the Asian Games 2023 with her twin, who is a minute older than Vithya, is not the only piece of history she will write in Hangzhou. The 24-year-old hurdler has gone on to win a bronze medal in the discipline.

Can Vithya Ramraj break PT Usha's record?

The Tamil Nadu athlete is also deemed as a heavy favourite to break the four-decade-old national record held by the legendary PT Usha at 55.43 seconds. Vithya in fact came 0.01 second closer to PT Usha's record three weeks ago when she attacked the hurdles with intensity while beating her nearest rival by more than three seconds.

The hurdler couldn't leave anything to chance despite the vicinity of the event to the Asian Games 2023 as AFI asked her to appear for a re-screening.

While the evergreen Vithya Ramraj couldn't hide her blushes as the result was a massive improvement from her previous best of 56.01 seconds, her coach Nehpal Singh Rathore kept his assessment of the performance short and to the point.

"It was good but she can do better," said Nehpal Singh Rathore, who is known for calling a spade a spade. However, the young coach, whose career was cut short due to injury, never had a shred of doubt in the talented runner and encouraged her to take hurdles more seriously.

It's his to-the-point feedback that Vithya Ramraj values and believes has been helpful in her rebirth as an improved athlete after a lull in her career last year when she came on the verge of quitting sports for good.

The decision to leave running behind wasn't taken in haste as Vithya Ramraj seemed all lost in the crowd of the national camps with little improvement in her performance in her favourite 400m flat. The runner eventually took the tough call of leaving the camp but Nithya managed to convince her sister not to leave the game behind.

"It was frustrating to see myself unable to improve my performanceVi and made me question myself as an athlete," Vithya Ramraj told myKhel. "I thought it would be better if I quit running and find a job to help my family.

"My sister did all she could to convince me to continue running. Since she had a job, she took care of my expenses for training and diet. Getting back to my coach was important too as he always knew my strengths and was quick to point out the areas he could improve me in."

Vithya Ramraj's steady rise in the domestic fold is not just restricted to the hurdles as the runner also among the most-improved quartermilers in the country this year. While breaking into the sub-53 felt like a psychological barrier for years, she clocked her personal best of 52.40 seconds in IGP-5 and made her ambitions apparent of breaking into the sub-52 timing at the Asian Games 2023.

Unfortunately, she wasn't considered the 400m flats in Hangzhou, where Aishwarya Mishra turned out to be the fastest Indian with a timing of 53.50 seconds while the last medal spot came at 52.58 seconds. The event was dominated by Bahrain's No. 1 Kemi Adeyoka, who would also be the favourite to take gold in the 400m hurdles.

Adeyoka's 53.09 seconds is the leading time in the continent and fourth worldwide while Vithya Ramraj's 55.42 seconds three weeks ago is the second-best timing in Asia. However, the fight for the medal could get intense for the Indian on her big-ticket event debut with the likes of Mo Jidie (China) and Animat Jamal (Bahrain) also in the fray for medals. For Vithya, however, it's an ideal opportunity to finally find a fast race to help go past the record.

"In Chandigarh, it almost felt like running I was running alone but that won't be the case at Asian Games with some Adeyoka competing. A fast race should definitey break the national record and hopefully a medal to show for it as well!" concluded Vithya.