‘Come And Run With Me’: Vithya Ramraj On ‘Average Male Vs Pro Female Athlete’ Debate And Sexism In Sport

Around 29 days have passed since Vithya Ramraj broke PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, but the achievement still feels surreal to the 28-year-old athlete.

The sudden fame, the messages and the recognition are taking some getting used to. Yet, when she looks back at the moment that changed everything, her first thought is not about the record or the headlines. It is about a dance step her twin sister had taught her two days ago.

“It was a first for me. Every athlete dreams of winning and hearing the national anthem. I’m so happy because I had never experienced that feeling before or seen the Indian flag being raised after a gold-medal win. Now, I have a gold medal to my name and medals of all three colours. I’m really happy,” Vithya Ramraj told Outlook India in an interview.

At the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Vithya clocked 54.75 seconds in the women’s 400m hurdles to win bronze and set a new national record, breaking Usha’s mark of 55.42 seconds, set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Vithya equalled PT Usha’s record at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where she also won bronze.

The Pressure To Get Everything Right; Even The Dance Step

For an athlete who waited years to break the record, the moments immediately after the race were filled with uncertainty. The result had not appeared on the screen, leaving Vithya anxious about what might have gone wrong.

“I was scared. We were all wondering why the result wasn’t showing up. Had we made some mistake? What had happened? I kept thinking, had I crossed the line? Was I disqualified? What was my timing? Had I broken the national record?”

When the result finally appeared, her mind went somewhere else entirely.

“Two days earlier, I had spoken to my twin sister, and she had taught me the dance step we were going to do. So, when the result appeared on the screen, that was the first thing I remembered. It was the only thing on my mind. Once I saw the result, I did the dance.”

Breaking the record marked a new chapter in Vithya’s career. She had equalled PT Usha’s mark in Hangzhou, but that achievement had not brought her the same recognition.

“Even at the last Asian Games, I had equalled PT Usha ma’am’s record, but people would still ask, ‘Who are you?’ This season, I broke it, and now everyone recognises me.”

The attention has been difficult to comprehend, even for the athlete at the centre of it.

“I don’t know why I became this popular. Really, I don’t know why.”

Her Instagram following rose from close to 5,000 to 92,000 in just three days.

Vithya is still getting used to the attention, but she already has someone in mind when she thinks about the kind of recognition she hopes to achieve.

“Now I’m thinking I want to be like Neeraj Chopra. That is when I will be more popular.”

Behind the national record was a coach who believed she could run faster, even when others questioned whether it was possible. Vithya said they had not entered the season chasing a particular medal colour or focusing solely on breaking the record.

“My coach said we had set a target for the last Asian Games, but I only managed to equal the record. Then I got injured after the Olympics, and once again after the Asian Championship. So, when we started the season in November, my coach decided that we want to do better. We weren’t chasing a particular medal colour or just trying to break the national record. We wanted to do whatever we could.”

She recalled how others doubted whether she could clock 54 seconds in the 400m hurdles, while her coach remained convinced she could.

“Everyone asked how Vithya would run. My coach said, ‘Definitely, she will run 54 seconds.’ But everyone doubted it. They kept asking how I could run 54 seconds when the record was 55.42. People questioned it, but we proved that we could do it.”

For Vithya, her coach’s belief was central to the achievement. She described Nehpal Singh Rathore as “the greatest person” and said he was “God-gifted” to her.

She also thanked the Athletics Federation of India for ensuring he could accompany her this time, after he couldn’t travel with her during the previous Asian Games.

With the Asian Games target achieved, her attention is now turning towards the World Championships. Her coach has asked her to take a few days off before beginning the next season, with the goal of returning as “a new Vithya”.

Vithya began athletics in 2009, when she was in Class VII. Her journey to the 400m hurdles was not straightforward. She had never practised hurdles before her first national competition and had not intended to compete in the event.

“I went there for the 600 metres, but there was some misunderstanding, and my event got changed. I had entered for a different event, but they put me in the hurdles. As it was my first national competition, I didn’t know what to do. I had never practised hurdles before. I went over the first hurdle and fell. Even now, I think that experience is what led me to the 400m hurdles.”

The event that began with a fall eventually became the discipline in which she would rewrite a national record that had stood for more than four decades. Reaching that point, however, meant years of training, long stretches away from home and the support of a family that had limited financial means.

“My career started in Class VII. My mum and dad didn’t have enough financial support, so they sent us to a sports hostel. It has been 16 years of my journey in athletics. I have spent most of that time in a hostel, and we would only go home for a few weeks or during exam leave.”

Her coach’s faith in her ability was one part of that journey. Her twin sister, Nithya, was the other.

The Tale Of Twin Sisters: Vithya And Nithya

Vithya and Nithya are twins, but their sporting journeys have never been a source of rivalry. Nithya competed in the 100m hurdles and secured a job with the Income Tax Department in 2018. Vithya credits her sister with helping her persevere through difficult training sessions and for supporting her financially.

“She has never been competition to me. I am here because of her.”

The two trained together, and Nithya pushed Vithya through sessions, especially when the latter was physically exhausted. Vithya recalled how her sister would urge her to complete one more repetition, even when her body was struggling.

“After four or five repetitions, my muscles would get tired, and I would vomit a lot. Even then, she would come and say, ‘Vithya, get up. We want to run. You have done this much. Come on, one more set.’ She has always been my backbone.”

That support extended beyond the track. Nithya helped make it possible for Vithya to travel and compete, taking care of expenses and arrangements when needed.

“She has spent a lot of money on me, paying for tickets, rooms and accommodation, everything. She has never been competition to me. We never fight or think that one of us is getting more than the other.”

The twins are part of a family of three daughters. Their elder sister is Sathya, while Nithya and Vithya are twins. For Vithya, the support of her family is inseparable from the career she has built.

‘Come And Run With Me’: Vithya Ramraj On The Average Male Vs Professional Female Athlete Debate

Vithya has faced questions about being a woman in sport, from the clothes athletes wear to whether girls should pursue athletics at all. Her family also faced questions over their decision to send their daughters into sports.

“Some people came and asked my parents, ‘Why are you sending your daughters into sports? They are wearing shorts. Who will marry them? How can you do this in sports?’ But my father said, ‘They want to run.’ So, our parents let us do what we wanted. We kept improving because they believed in us.”

She also spoke about the scrutiny women athletes face over their clothing, explaining that the freedom to dress for sport does not always extend beyond the track.

“Whatever we wear, we can’t wear it everywhere. On the track, I can wear it, but outside, I can’t. I feel it is quite hard.”

The debate over the capabilities of an average male and a professional female athlete is one she is willing to address directly. Rather than argue over comparisons, Vithya would prefer to settle the question on the track.

“A medal is a medal. Whether men win or women win, it is still called a gold medal. We are together. I don’t think women’s power is greater than men’s, or men’s power is greater than women’s. We all want to give our best.”

Her response to those who question the ability of professional female athletes is straightforward.

“I’m telling you something. Come and run with me. We will compete together, and then we will see who wins.”

The Gold That Made It All Worthwhile

The women’s 4x400m relay gave Vithya another memorable moment at the Asian Games. Running the anchor leg, she joined Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma and Prachi Chaudhary in a quartet that clocked 3:29.69 to win gold ahead of Bahrain and China.

The day had not begun in ideal conditions. Rain drenched the athletes’ warm-up clothes and shoes, leaving the team waiting in the changing area before the race.

“I usually don’t like rain. I stop training when it rains because it can cause injuries and affect my workout. Our shoes and clothes got completely wet. After we entered the track, we waited for almost 20 minutes in the warm-up changing area. We didn’t know what was happening outside because it was a small room. But once we were on the track, the rain stopped completely.”

The sudden change in weather felt like a good sign to the team.

“We thought God was blessing us. God was on our side.”

Poovamma, 36, was the most senior member of the quartet and was competing at her third Asian Games. Vithya said she supported the younger athletes like a mother.

“Poovamma Didi, the most senior member of our team, is literally like a mother. She supported us as much as she could.”

Before the race, the team came together and encouraged one another.

“We hugged each other and said, ‘Come on, guys, we can do it. This is our day. We are going to get a gold medal.’ Then we went to the starting blocks.”

By the time Vithya took the baton, her teammates had already put the team in contention. She knew the responsibility that came with running the anchor leg, but her focus was on the women who ran before her.

“The three ran so well, and they were waiting for me to finish. They wanted to see what Vithya would do, what colour medal we would get and what we could achieve at the Asian Games. I had only one thought: I didn’t want to disappoint my teammates. I ran for them because they were waiting to see what medal we would win.”

She pushed herself through the final stretch, reminding herself to give everything she had.

“I told myself, ‘Come on, last push, you can do it. Whatever happens tomorrow is tomorrow. Now it’s your day. You want to do it. You want to give your best.’ I wanted to hear people say, ‘Vithya did really well.’ So, I pushed myself to do whatever I was capable of.”

The team won gold, bringing Vithya the moment she had wanted to experience: hearing the Indian national anthem after a medal-winning performance.

“We won the gold medal, and we wanted to hear the national anthem. The whole stadium in Japan was full, and everyone was listening to our national anthem after our victory. It was a heartfelt moment for India.”

The women’s relay team also delivered athletics’ only gold medal for India at the Games, a result Vithya took particular pride in.

“I’m so proud that we women did that. The only gold medal from athletics came from a women’s team.”

The performance reinforced her belief that a relay team could come together and deliver, even when its members had different levels of experience.

“We don’t want to depend on anyone. It is one race, and even with new people, we can coordinate easily because it is a 4x400m relay. We can give our best because each of us has our own part to run.”

The Daughter Who Never Wanted To Be A Son

Before athletics became her life, Vithya and Nithya dreamed of dancing. Their elder sister, Sathya, believed they were good enough to audition, and the family was making plans for them to pursue it. But their mother’s decision to apply for a sports hostel changed the direction of their lives.

“My twin sister and I were good at dancing. My family, especially Sathya, felt that we could do well at it. She wanted to take us to auditions, and we were planning for that. But my mother applied for a sports hostel, so we went into athletics. Otherwise, I would have become a dancer.”

Their father, Ramraj, worked as a truck driver. The family made sacrifices to keep the daughters in sport, often going without things they needed. Vithya said she had only recently learnt the extent of the criticism her parents had faced.

“My parents never told us anything about what people said to them. Now that I have won medals and achieved something in athletics, they have started telling me about the things they went through and the comments people made about us.”

Some of those remarks were about the family having three daughters and no son. Vithya recalled that people had even asked her parents if they could take one of the twins for adoption.

“People came and asked, ‘What are you going to do with three girls? You don’t have a son.’ Some people even asked my parents if they could adopt one of the twins.”

The comments were not the only hardship her parents endured. Vithya also learnt that her father had sometimes gone without food to afford the equipment she needed.

“My father even skipped meals to buy shoes for me.”

Learning about those sacrifices has made her achievements all the more meaningful. For Vithya, the national record and Asian Games medals are not just personal milestones; they are also a way of giving something back to the family that stood by her.

“My family has made a lot of sacrifices for this. That is why we are here. I feel really proud of them, and I’m really happy.”

Now, Vithya wants to use what she earns to give her parents the things they could not afford when she was growing up.

“Whatever they ask for nowadays, I will buy for them. I tell them, ‘Whatever you want, buy it. Please take it.’”

She has a line for her parents that captures both her pride in being their daughter and her determination to look after them.

“I’m not your son. I’m your daughter. I will do everything like a daughter. I’ll spoil you.”