Harita Bhadra wins bronze in the Women's 200m at Asian Games 2026, edging Japan's Ido by 0.01s with a season-best 23.20s
The 23-year-old Maharashtra sprinter's first international medal caps a breakout year that included a 11.22s 100m national best
Her bronze added to a big Day 9 for India, alongside squash silvers for Abhay and Anahat Singh
Harita Bhadra is officially an Asian Games medallist. Competing in the Women's 200m final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, the 23-year-old Indian sprinter clocked 23.20 seconds to claim bronze in a nail-biting photo finish, edging out Japan's Abigeirufuka Ido (23.21s) by the barest of margins — just 0.01 seconds, the width of a vest.
Singapore's Shanti Pereira took gold in 22.78s, with China's Chen Yujie settling for silver in 22.93s. What made the run even more special was the timing of her improvement — after clocking 23.31s to finish second in her heat, Harita saved her very best for the final, running faster when it mattered most. Fellow Indian Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland also impressed, finishing sixth in 23.46s in her first-ever Asian Games final.
The medal marks the first international podium finish of Harita Bhadra's career, capping off a breakout 2026 season. Hailing from Maharashtra, Harita completed her BSc in Sports Science, Coaching and Physical Education from Loughborough University in the UK before turning her full focus to athletics, and she now trains at the Jio Institute in Navi Mumbai.
Her rise this year has been remarkable — she won the National Inter-State 200m title in 23.14 seconds (comfortably inside the Asian Games qualifying mark) and the national indoor 60m title in 7.32 seconds, before producing a stunning 11.22-second run in the 100m at the Indian Athletics Final Series in September, making her the second-fastest Indian woman ever over that distance.
Off the track, she's also known for her creative side as a handmade jewellery designer, and has spoken about idolising tennis great Rafael Nadal for his fighting spirit — a mindset clearly reflected in how she closed out that final.
India's athletics contingent has been one of the standout performers of these Games, building on a record-breaking Hangzhou 2023 campaign where the discipline delivered 29 medals, including six golds, the country's best-ever haul in the sport. At Aichi-Nagoya, athletics has continued to be a medal powerhouse alongside shooting, with India sitting inside the top 10 nations overall.
Day 9 (September 27) turned into one of the most action-packed days of the Games for India, headlined by a stacked evening athletics session with multiple finals — including the women's 200m where Harita Bhadra's bronze arrived.
The day also saw India add to its tally elsewhere, with Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh both claiming silver medals in the squash singles finals, while the men's and women's kabaddi teams had sealed a historic double gold just a day earlier, pushing India's overall medal count firmly into the upper reaches of the table as the Games head into their final stretch before concluding on October 4.
