India won a Bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay at the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday. The team of Vishal Thennarasu, Dharmveer Chaudhary, Manu Thekkinalil, and Jay Kumar recorded a time of 3:01.61, finishing behind Qatar’s 3:00.93 and Japan’s 3:00.75.
This was India’s 12th medal and the first Bronze in the event at the Games. The Bronze came soon after the women’s team won Gold in the same event, and together, they made it 52 medals for India.
Dharamveer gave India a steady start and handed over to Manu with the team in medal contention. Manu was crowded during the second leg and was forced to move around the field, leaving India fourth when Jay Kumar took over.
Jay responded strongly to move India back into the medal positions and briefly pushed
the team into second place behind Japan. India slipped to fourth during the final exchange, but Vishal produced a strong closing leg to make up ground and bring the team back into third.
India had entered the final with a season-best 3:00.32, the fastest time among the finalists. Japan had the second-fastest season-best of 3:00.19 but delivered the winning performance in the final.
The bronze brought India’s athletics campaign at the Asian Games to a close, with the men’s relay team adding another medal to the country’s track and field tally.
Vishal T K, born on March 28, 1999, in Jolarpettai, Tamil Nadu, is one of India’s leading 400m runners. Despite dealing with knock knees during childhood, he progressed through the national ranks and made his international breakthrough in 2025.
In 2026, he became the first Indian to break the 45-second barrier in the 400m, clocking 44.98 seconds at the National Federation Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi to set a national record.
Dharmveer, born on February 5, 2001, in Rajasthan, is a developing 400m runner and relay specialist based at RC Trivandrum. He won gold in the 4x400m relay at the 2026 National Open Relay Competition and silver at the World Athletics Continental Tour Indian Open.
Jay, born on June 10, 2006, in Uttar Pradesh, is one of India’s promising young quarter-milers. Training at RC Trivandrum, he has made significant progress in the 400m in 2026 and has also featured in India’s mixed 4x400m relay programme.
