Asian Games: Harita Bhadra holds his nerve at the finish line in photo to win 200m bronze

NEW DELHI: India’s Harita Bhadra clinched a hard-fought bronze medal in the women’s 200m at the 2026 Asian Games on Sunday, edging out Japan’s Abigeirufuka Ido in a thrilling photo finish.Harita clocked 23.20 seconds to finish third, just 0.01 seconds ahead of Ide, who was clocked at 23.21 seconds. Indonesia’s Shanti Pereira took the gold in 22.78s, while China’s 100m champion Yujie Chen took the silver in 22.93s.The bronze was India’s ninth athletics medal at the ongoing Games, taking the country’s tally to four silver and five bronze medals in athletics. India is still waiting for its first athletics gold in Aichi-Nagoya.Asian Games full coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule

Harita holds her nerve during the photo shoot

Harita produced a strong finish to secure the final podium spot in a tightly contested race. The Indian sprinter had little room for error, Ido pushed her to the line.The Japanese athlete clocked 23.21s but Harita’s 23.20s was enough to secure the bronze and add another medal to the growing tally of Indian athletes.Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland, the second Indian in the final, finished sixth with a time of 23.46 seconds.Harita’s medal added to an increasingly productive athletics campaign for India, with the athletics contingent now collecting nine medals.

More athletics medals in sight

India remained in contention for another athletics medal later on Sunday.The women’s long jump final was underway, Ancy Sojanová was leading after the first two attempts. Her best performance at this stage of the competition was 6.49m.Tejaswin Shankar was also still in contention for a medal in the decathlon, coming in third with only the last event remaining.A few minutes later, India’s Animesh Kujur finished fifth in the men’s 200m final after clocking 20.80 seconds. Thailand’s Puripol Boonson won the race in spectacular fashion, setting a new Asian record with a time of 19.88 seconds.