CM Vijay rewards Vithya Ramraj Rs 30 lakh after historic bronze at Asian Games 2026

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has announced a cash incentive of Rs 30 lakh for athlete Vithya Ramraj after she won bronze in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The announcement came on Monday after Ramraj produced a record-breaking performance in the final.

Ramraj clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to finish third and break PT Usha's 42-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds. Usha had set the mark at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, making Ramraj's performance one of the notable moments of India's athletics campaign in Japan.

The 28-year-old had come close



to the record before. At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, she clocked 55.42 seconds in the heats to equal Usha's mark. Four years later, she finally went past it, lowering the record by 0.67 seconds in Nagoya.

Congratulating Ramraj, Vijay highlighted the significance of breaking a record that had stood for more than four decades.

“I extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to the athletic champion Vidhya Ramraj, who has brought pride to Tamil Nadu and India by winning a bronze medal in the women's 400-meter hurdles event at the Asian Games currently taking place in Japan,” Vijay wrote.