Big blow for India! Defending champion Avinash Sable missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the 3000m steeplechase

India’s Avinash Sable (AP photo) NEW DELHI: India suffered a major disappointment in the athletics competition at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday as defending champion and Games record holder Avinash Sable finished fourth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final despite his best performance of the season.Sable clocked 8:21.67 but was unable to reproduce the performance that earned him gold in the previous edition. The Indian could not keep up with the leading trio in a packed finale and ended up missing the podium.Japan’s Ryuji Miura won gold in a new Games record of 8:17.36, while compatriot Ryoma Aoki claimed silver in a personal best of 8:17.60. Qatar’s Zakaria Elahlaami took the bronze in 8:18.13.For India, Sable’s fourth-place finish was particularly disappointing given his status as the defending champion and Asian Games record holder. His season record of 8:21.67 underlined his effort today, but it was still not enough to extend India’s medal run in the men’s steeplechase.Sable has proven to be one of India’s most reliable athletics medalists in recent years, so the failure to make the podium was a significant setback.Asian Games full coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule

Vithya Ramraj breaks PT Usha’s record, wins bronze

But there was a historic moment for India in the 400m hurdles when Vithya Ramraj clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to win the bronze medal.The 28-year-old from Coimbatore finished behind UAE’s Mariam Kareem, who won gold in a Games record 54.31 seconds, and Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems, who won silver in a personal best 54.58.With her performance, Ramraj also broke the more than four-decade-old national record held by legendary Indian athlete PT Usha. Usha clocked 55.42 seconds at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.Usha, who now heads the Indian Olympic Association, attended the games to witness the record being broken.The bronze was Ramraj’s second medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after earlier winning silver in the 4x400m medley relay. India’s Anu Raghavan finished fifth in the final to set another personal best of 55.88 seconds.Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Seema Kaliramna also narrowly missed out on the podium in the women’s discus final. Her personal best of 59.88m achieved in the fifth attempt was not enough and all three medalists recorded throws over 60m.