India's women's 4x400m relay team clinched the nation's first athletics gold at the 2026 Asian Games, clocking 3:29.69. This marks India's sixth title in the event and the first since 2018, showcasing the athletes' dedication and excellence on the global stage.
We are once again witnessing a devastating and angry outpouring against the archaic and widely prevalent patriarchy that is so blatantly visible in every facet of our country's systems and in the kind of lives they provide for its citizens. A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped at a park near the Kalkaji temple in southeast Delhi by three men who posed as police personnel. The accused allegedly used legal terminology to intimidate her and her friend, then separated her from him. Lady Shri Ram College for Women, whose back gate is close to the park, cancelled classes and shifted them online. Protests have followed across Delhi and other parts of the country, with people demanding safer public spaces and accountability from the systems meant to protect them.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, four Indian women gave the country a moment to celebrate. Kiran Pahal, Poovamma Machettira, Prachi Choudhary, and Vithya Ramraj won the women's 4x400m relay on the final day of competition, clocking 3:29.69. Bahrain took silver in 3:30.21 and China took bronze in 3:31.02. The gold was India's first in athletics at these Games, and the first in this event since Jakarta 2018.
Before that, the Indian team had won the race five times consecutively, from 2002 to 2018. At these Asian Games, Vithya Ramraj also broke PT Usha's national record, securing the bronze in the 400m hurdles.
These women are making their country proud year after year, performing on the most prestigious international stages and showing the world the dedication, discipline and calibre of athletes from our subcontinent. And while they do that, what do we do to our girls and women at home? We accost them, oppress them, and police their every move, and we tell them that the way to avoid all the horrible, heinous things that can happen to them at any place and at any time of day is simply not to go out.
So yes, India is extremely proud of these four world-class athletes, who happen to be women, for winning the gold medal. I hope that one day us women get to be proud of how safe we feel in our own country.
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