EXCLUSIVE | After two medals at the Asian Games, Harita Bhadra is targeting 22:45 and the World Championships

Harita Bhadra won two bronze medals at the 2026 Asian Games Before the Asian Games, Harita Bhadra had a rather modest definition of success. A personal best, she said, would make her happy. She wanted to get on stage.She will now leave Aichi-Nagoya with two bronze medals – one from the women’s 200m and the other from the 4x100m medley relay, where she ran the anchor leg as India set a national record of 41.06 seconds.“I’m very happy because at the end of the day I got like two medals. Getting on the podium is like one of the best feelings, especially when you’re representing India and getting a medal for your country. So it was a very surreal experience for me,” Bhadra told Timesofindia.com from Japan.“And I didn’t get a personal best, but with the weather conditions and everything, I feel like I did my best. So it’s okay,” she added.It was also Bhadra’s first senior international competition representing India. She hadn’t gone through the junior international program in Indian colors before coming to Japan, so much of what she encountered in Aichi-Nagoya was new – the size of the stadium, the pressure of the races and the closeness of the competition – but she quickly learned that training couldn’t replicate it all.“I definitely learned a lot from this competition and I definitely even discovered a lot about myself,” she said. “Such scenarios (can only be experienced) in competition and the level of pressure and the level of execution will only increase as you go higher and higher.”“But I found out how strong I can be mentally. If I tell my mind to do something, it can do it.”

Before the race, Bhadra knew she belonged

Watching Bhadra during the games was a stark contrast. She was quiet and composed before the races, but her expressions changed once she crossed the line. Happiness was instant.“On the starting line, my only thought is that I belong here,” she answered when asked what she was going through between those two moments.“I don’t have to worry about any of my competitors because I’m on the same starting line. I just try to trust my body and not think about anything because I just stay in the moment and just trust my body that all the work I’ve done is like my body ready to do it.”But that calm didn’t mean the nerves disappeared ahead of her 200m final. Rather, Bhadra says she was nervous. The Reliance Foundation-backed athlete had already given herself a good platform in the heats, finishing second in 23.31s behind Singapore’s Shanti Pereira.“Everybody on the starting line is nervous, but you just accept it. You’re nervous, but that doesn’t mean you’re not confident at the same time. It’s just a combination of both: you can be nervous but also confident at the same time.”

The 200m bronze dropped to 0.01 seconds

But the finish was nerve-wracking – to say the least. Pereira won in 22.78s, with China’s Chen Yujie taking silver in 22.93s. Bhadra crossed in 23.20s, but Japan’s Abigeirufuka Ido was just 0.01 seconds behind in 23.21s. That meant the bronze was decided by the narrowest of margins, with photos separating Bhadra from the Japanese sprinter.Seconds after reaching the finish, Bhadra wasn’t sure where she had ended up. She expected the results to appear on the screen across from the finish line. After the race, she went to teammate Unnati Aiyappa and sat down with her. Unnati finally pointed to another screen. “She was like, ‘You finished third,’ and that’s when I realized I was third.”The medal was certain, but the race itself still had things Bhadra wanted to improve. “You’ll never be satisfied with a race. You’ll always feel like it could have been done better. That part could have been done better,” she said.Greater international exposure should help the 23-year-old in this regard. The stage was completely new and she felt there were sections of the race she could have handled better.“I know there’s more left in me, but I trust the process and I believed that whenever I knew I could, I’d run the race that I had in mind.”However, one part of the plant gave her proof that the work was going in the right direction. The last 30 meters worked on with his coach Rohit Mane at the Reliance Foundation.“Yes, definitely, because I think I won the race because of the last 30 meters. So the improvement was clearly there.”Bhadra’s coach Mane was not at the Games in Japan, but they stayed in touch through video calls and regular calls, while the relay group had the support of Martin Owens of the Reliance Foundation and James Hillier, along with AFI coaches in Japan.According to her, the coaches constantly reminded the four runners that the work was already done and that the runners next to them had to believe. “They kept us motivated to trust each other. And so we also trusted our partners more.”

The relay brought a different kind of pressure

By the time Bhadra returned to the track for the 4x100m medley relay, she had already competed twice. The stadium was no longer unknown.“I was definitely more confident because I had the experience of two races,” she said. “Now I knew what it was going to be like in the beginning and I knew how I was going to feel when I walked into the stadium and everything, what the call room was like.“I was calmer and more composed because I basically knew the environment. So going into the relay, I felt more collected than I did in the 200.”The foursome of Gurindervir Singh, Sneha Shanuvali, Animesh Kujjur and Bhadra had been working on the event long before arriving in Nagoya. Asian Games camp in Bhubaneswar in August, followed by an acclimatization camp in Tsukuba.They practiced the relay twice a week during the camp. As the Games got closer, this was reduced to once a week as all four athletes also had individual events to prepare for.Bhadra ran the anchor leg in both the semi-final and final, producing strong surfaces each time. In the semi-final, she had to recover from a difficult change of bat in the arc, but still produced the run that took India to the final. In the medal race, her late surge again proved crucial as India secured the bronze. The decision to use Bhadra as an anchor, he says, was made by the coaching staff and the AFI team.“They decided to give me an anchor leg. So I was like, OK, I’ll do an anchor leg. That’s it.”The semi-final tested that decision almost immediately. Kujur fell during the baton exchange before Bhadra took the baton and looked back for a split second, but with the baton in her hand she concentrated on her work.“My only thing was that I got the baton. So he (Kujur) did his job and gave me the baton. So my job is to get the team to qualify. Once I finished, I was just looking outside like I was just trying to understand what really happened. I was trying to see if Animesh was okay or what really happened.”

Studies can wait. The next number is 22.45

There was another decision at the start of the year that Bhadra wanted to put to the test: to put her studies on hold and devote herself fully to sprinting.She didn’t make a decision because she couldn’t do both. She wanted to find out what would happen if she didn’t have to share time.“I wanted to give myself the opportunity to explore what it would be like. I only have to focus on the track and not have to juggle two things at once,” she said.Track, she said, takes time and commitment. “I’m very happy with the decision. It was a good decision. I’m glad I took the opportunity to explore what it would be like.”Even her family in Japan made the week different. She wanted them to see her compete in a big event, and there they were.“I actually liked that my family was there because I was so excited to see me run in such a big event, one of the biggest events of my athletic career so far,” she said.“I was very happy that they could be there with me because it made everything 100 times more special.Having ticked off one of the big indicators for the year, Bhadra is now aiming higher and her next goal is already clear.“I’m aiming to qualify for the 2027 World Cup.”The World Cup and eventually the Olympics, which seemed further away before Aichi-Nagoya, are now also a bit closer. “Yeah, sure. It’s a step closer, like a step up, a step closer. The qualifying mark is 22.45s in the 200m.”He believes it is achievable. Bhadra’s personal best in the 200m is currently 23.14s, which she achieved in June this year.“It can be done. But yes, it’s closer, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Bhadra said, pausing briefly before answering.The area he wants to work on the most is not one that the stopwatch will immediately show. It’s about the mental side. “On the starting line, before the race even starts, if you’re not mentally strong, you’ve lost the race. Everyone’s so close, like I said, 0.01 seconds. It’s like nothing.”Her response is to stay calm enough to continue competing when the race is still up for grabs. “You have to have that mental thing that you don’t give up, that you believe that no, I can still win.”

He still wants to take it one day at a time

For Bhadra, peace of mind and connection with the race is now part of the job alongside physical preparation. He does not yet plan to choose between 100 and 200 m.According to her, both events complement each other. Training for 100m helps for 200m and vice versa. She will take the offseason before her coach puts together another plan.As for a favorite?“I have days where I pick 100 and some days I pick 200. I can’t pick for sure.”Even the medals haven’t changed the way he wants to approach the next season. Before the Games, Bhadra talked about taking things one day at a time. Now, he still uses the same approach, even with the attention that comes after two medals at the Asian Games.“I don’t really think about expectations. Out there, I’m just running for myself. I’m not running for anyone else. The only thing is, yes, every day has to be an improvement, even if it’s a little bit. But my only goal is to take it one day at a time and improve from the day before,” she said.No elaborate celebration is planned yet. Her family stays in Japan for a few more days to explore the country. Once back, Bhadra wants to meet his coach and “show off” the two medals. Then family and friends will be at home.And then there’s Dagina.Launched in October 2025, handmade jewelery brand Bhadra will have its birthday in a month. She designs and makes the pieces herself, and as it remains a hobby, she handles the work herself. The build-up to the Asian Games and the last two months in camp meant she couldn’t devote much time to it.She started Dagina as a way to take her mind off athletics. Now Japan has given her an idea of ​​what comes next.“Now, once I get back, I’ll start again, maybe do a Japanese-inspired collection or something like that.”