Seema Kumari won a bronze medal in the 10,000m race at the Asian Games 2026 with a time of 32:50.05
She grew up in Himachal Pradesh as the youngest of six children, with an overprotective mother after losing her father at the age of 12
She also plans to take part in the 5,000m race and is hoping to do better than her bronze-medal finish
Asian Games 2026: Protecting Her 78-Year-Old Mother's Heart Inspired Seema Kumari's 10,000m Bronze
Seema Kumari, who hails from a small village in Himachal Pradesh, became only the third Indian athlete to win a medal in the 10,000m at the Asian Games and the first to do so in 16 years.
Summary
History-making long-distance runner Seema did not want her septuagenarian mother to fret over her whereabouts when she headed to Japan for the Asian Games. So, she figured a simply solution -- fly away without telling her about the biggest assignment of her career.
Seema, who fetched a surprise bronze in the women's 10,000m race by clocking 32:50.05 seconds, says she has a protective mother, who worries excessively whenever she travels. But over the years, she has made peace with Seema being at Bengaluru for lengthy training stints and this is exactly the assumption she left her with while heading to Nagoya.
"My father is no more. I have my mother but she is quite old, around 78. I was born very late, when she was 45. Whenever I go out, she gets very tensed. So, I did not tell her that I am going to Japan for Asian Games," Seema said after winning her medal.
"But whenever she finds out, she will not be able to sleep for a day. She (mother) has a high blood pressure problem and so whenever I go for training camp or for tournaments, I don't tell her much. I only tell my sister."
Seema left for Nagoya after briefing her elder sister, who, by now, must have spread the word especially after Seema's medal-winning show.
The 25-year-old hails from Reta village in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district and on Thursday she became only the third Indian to win a medal in the women's 10,000m race, after Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut won a gold and silver in the 2010 Asian Games.
Asked if her mother now knows where she is, Seema said, "She (mother) might have known by now from my sister, they might be watching me on television."
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"Otherwise, she (mother) must be thinking that I am currently in Bengaluru (SAI Center)."
"I have a big sister. She is around 45 years old. There are six of us (members) in the family. I am the youngest."
When her father passed away, Seema was just 12 year of age and she spent her childhood running barefoot and herding cattle. Her mother backed her in taking up athletics even as the villagers frowned upon it.
"It's my first Asian Games. I am proud that I won the bronze medal and I have realised my dream."
Talking about the race, she said all the competitors were looking for the medal and not for the timings.
"The race was very tactical. Everyone ran for the medal. I also thought that I will fight for the medal because it was my first Asian Games. Everyone wants to win gold for their country.
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"I fought to win gold, but I won the bronze medal. I am happy, but my next event is on September 28, which is 5000m. I will try my best to change the colour of my medal," said Seema who won a silver in the World University Games last year.
On her preparations for the Asian Games, she said, "I trained under Scott Simon. We train with the Olympic champions and that has helped us in performance as well as in mental aspect. We have the same mindset that we can compete with the best.
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