Asian Games: Prachi wins first 400m bronze, superstar Salwa Naser poses

India’s Prachi Choudhary wore a bronze medal around her neck with Olympic silver medalist Salwa Naser by her side after a night of commemoration in the women’s 400m final at the Asian Games on Saturday. Prachi finished third in 53.21 seconds to win her first individual medal of the Asian Games. Bahrain’s Naser lived up to her billing as the star of the field, winning gold in a Games record 49.20 seconds, while Iran’s Zahra Zarei Manoujan claimed silver in 52.38 seconds.

She finished third in her heat in 53.46 seconds and advanced as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers. A few hours later she ran a better race in the final and held on for bronze. India’s other finalist Kiran Pahal finished fifth in 53.41 seconds. Prachi arrived at the Asian Games with a simple goal: two medals. One is now secured and we still have the women’s 4×400 meter relay.

Asian Games Live: Update 26 September

“Look, this time I came here expecting to take home two medals. So now I have one in the individual. Next is the relay and my goal for the relay is to improve the medal color compared to last time. That’s my main goal for this season,” Prachi said after the race.

The bronze adds an individual medal to Prachi’s successful relay career. She was part of the Indian women’s 4x400m relay team at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. She also won silver in the same event at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha.

Indian track and field athlete Prachi has represented the country at major international competitions and was part of the women’s 4x400m relay team at the Paris Olympics.

He is still thinking about the Olympics, but he wants to take the next step and qualify for the individual as well.

“I participated in the Paris Olympics in the relay. Next time, my goal is to qualify as an individual and be a member of the relay at the same time,” she said.

‘MY MIND SUDDENLY CLICKS AND SAYS: GO’

Prachi’s biggest pressure came in the final 50 meters when she found enough to stay in medal contention. Where did the extra energy come from?

“It comes naturally to me! Whenever I need to achieve something, it feels like God’s blessing or whatever. My mind just clicks and says, ‘Go, you’ll get it now.’ So I just went for it,” she said.

Before the race, there was also a conversation with the President of the Athletics Federation of India, Lalit Bhanot, who, according to Prachi, played an important role in boosting her confidence.

“I will do it. And today, what happened, the chief of our federation called me and arranged a meeting. He motivated me a lot. His name is Lalit Bhanot sir. I want to thank him deeply for motivating me so much and I showed it right here today,” she said.

Bronze in 400 meters adds another important chapter in Prachi’s career. Her personal best in the event is 52.40 seconds, set in 2023.

She has also been part of national relay teams at major championships, but Saturday’s medal was different. This one just had her name on it.

Prachi is also a TOP athlete, since September 2026 she has been included in the Target Olympic podium scheme. In preparation for the Asian Games, she received training assistance at the National Coaching Camp.

She received Rs 25,000 as financial assistance under TOPS and Rs 4,65,678 under Annual Training and Competition Calendar (ACTC).

All the preparation came together on Saturday evening, when she finally got her hands on an individual medal from the Asian Games.

And Prachi did not hide what that moment meant to her. “Yes, and I’m proud of myself. Once I decide to do something, I do it,” she said.

However, the work is not finished. Prachi still has the women’s 4x400m relay ahead of her where she will try to improve on the silver India won in Hangzhou.

For now, however, she can enjoy an individual bronze from the Asian Games, a medal that was far from certain when she had to fight her way into the final.

– The end