WATCH: India shock China to win 4x100m relay gold with season-best time at Asian Relay Championships 2026 | More Sports News:
NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s 4x100m relay team put up a stunning performance to clinch gold at the Asian Relay Championships 2026, defeating strong challengers China in a thrilling finish with a season’s best time of 43.85 seconds.The quartet of Srabani Nanda, SS Sneha, Sudeshna Shivankar and Tamanna produced a near-perfect race, combining sharp baton exchanges and explosive speed to finish ahead of China, who took silver in 44.09 seconds. Thailand claimed bronze in 44.11 seconds in a very tight contest.Coached by Martin Owens of the Reliance Foundation, the Indian team executed their race plan precisely, marking one of their most polished relay performances in recent years.
Strong individual brilliance powers the Indian campaign
The gold medal capped off a successful encounter between Tamanna and Sneha Shanuvalli, who ended the championships with two medals each. Earlier, the two played a key role in India’s mixed 4x100m relay bronze alongside Animesh Kujur and Pranav Gurav.The mixed quartet clocked 41.27 seconds to take third place behind Thailand (41.14s) and China (41.29s), ensuring India remains competitive in the sprint relay events.India also added silver in the mixed 4x400m relay, where Theerthesh P Shetty, MR Poovamma, Barath Sridhar and Neeru Pathak combined for a strong run, finishing in 3:17.06 seconds behind Vietnam.WATCH: Indian team takes 4x100m gold
Mixed results in the 4x400m relays
Despite the sprint success, India faced disappointment in the 4x400m relay events. The women’s team of MR Poovamma, Rashdeep Kaur, Ansa Babu and Saloni Nagar finished fourth in 3:34.88 seconds, missing out on a podium finish as Vietnam took gold in 3:31.16.In the men’s 4x400m relay, Theerthesh P Shetty, Avinash Kumar, Suraj Alagar Raja and Barath Sridhar placed fifth in 3:05.33, as Vietnam once again dominated the field to win gold.
India ended up bagging three medals
Overall, India ended the championships with one gold, one silver and one bronze, highlighting a competitive but inconsistent campaign in the events. The absence of the men’s 4x100m team due to injuries also affected the overall medal potential.The 2026 edition serves as an important preparatory event ahead of a packed athletics calendar, including the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. India will next host the Asian Relay Championships in 2027 in Chandigarh.
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