The 23-year-old Indian sprinter Harita Bhadra who won women’s 200m bronze at Asian Games 2026 after clocking 23.20 secondsHere’s everything you need to know.
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Harita Bhadra celebrates after winning bronze in the women’s 200m at Asian Games 2026(Photo: X)
Asian Games 2026: India ended its sprint events at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a bronze medal and a fifth-place finish in the women’s and men’s 200m finals on Sunday.
Harita Bhadra produced a strong run to win bronze in the women’s 200m final, clocking 23.20 secondsShe finished just 0.01 seconds ahead of Japan’s sprinter to secure her place on the podium.
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Singapore’s Veronica Shanti Pereira won the gold medal with a timing of 22.78 seconds, while China’s Chen Yujie took silver in 22.93 secondsChen had earlier won the women’s 100m title at the Games.
Harita ends India’s long wait for women’s 200m medal
Harita’s bronze ended India’s wait for a medal in the women’s 200m at the Asian Games since Dutee Chand won bronze at the 2018 edition.
The 23-year-old Maharashtra sprinter also became only the sixth Indian woman to win a 200m medal at the Asian Games.
Her medal-winning performance came just 0.06 seconds outside her personal best of 23.14 secondsHarita had set that mark at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in 2026, where she also won the national title.
Her performance at the Asian Games adds another major achievement to her growing sprint career.
Who is Harita Bhadra?
Born on 6 June 2003, Harita Bhadra is a Maharashtra-based sprinter who specialises in the 200m eventHer performances have improved over the years and she has become one of the promising young runners of India.
Her biggest breakthrough in 2026 came at the National Inter-State Championships where she clocked 23.14 secondsThe performance helped her meet the qualification standard for the Asian Games.
Harita Bhadra’s 2026 achievement:
- 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships – 200m Gold
- Timing: 23.14 seconds
Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland finishes sixth
India also had Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland in the women’s 200m finalShe finished sixth with a timing of 23.46 seconds.
Bolland was among the first athletes to congratulate Harita after the raceShe embraced her teammate following Harita’s podium finish.
The result gave India another encouraging performance in the sprint events at the Games.
Animesh Kujur finishes fifth in men’s 200m
The men’s 200m final brought a different result for India, with Animesh Kujur finishing fifth in 20.80 seconds.
Thailand’s Puripol Boonson dominated the race and completed the 100m-200m sprint doubleHe clocked 19.88 seconds to equal the Asian record after setting a new Games record during the qualifying round.
Animesh had reached the final after a strong showing in the earlier roundsHowever, he could not produce the pace needed to challenge for a medal.
The Indian sprinter had also reached the 100m semifinals earlier in the Games.
While Animesh missed out on the podium, Harita’s bronze gave India a memorable finish to the sprint programme at Asian Games 2026.
