Vithya Ramraj awarded by CM Vijay after relay gold, ends up with Rs 1.55 crore prize money

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced another cash reward for athlete Vithya Ramraj after she helped India win gold in the women’s 4x400m relay at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The Tamil Nadu government will provide an incentive of Rs 75 crore to Ramraj after the quartet of Kiran Pahal, MR Poovamma, Prachi and Ramraj clocked 3:29.69 to beat Bahrain and China.

This is the third cash incentive announced for Ramraj during the ongoing Asian Games. Her latest reward takes the total cash incentives announced to her to Rs 1.55 crore. Vijay had earlier announced Rs 50 lakh for Ramraj and Vishal TK after their 4x400m medley relay silver. He then rewarded Ramraj with another Rs 30 lakh after winning bronze in the 400m hurdles, breaking PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record.

Asian Games, September 29 update

“Heartiest congratulations and thanks to athlete Vithya Ramraj for bringing pride to Tamil Nadu and India by winning a gold medal in the women’s 4x400m relay at the Asian Games currently being held in Japan,” Vijay wrote.

“In recognition of her outstanding achievement, the Government of Tamil Nadu will provide her with a financial incentive of Rs 75 lakh. This is Vithya Ramraj’s third medal in the ongoing Asian Games,” Vijay wrote.

“She achieved this historic feat through her talent, hard work and determination. Vithya Ramraj’s success inspires a new generation of young sportspersons in Tamil Nadu,” Vijay wrote.

“I wish Vithya Ramraj many more successes in the future and hope that he continues to bring pride to Tamil Nadu and India,” added Vijay.

WHO ELSE HAS BEEN REWARDED BY CM VIJAY?

Vijay also felicitated several other Tamil Nadu athletes during the 2026 Asian Games. Cricketer G Kamalini received Rs 75 crore after being part of India’s gold medal winning T20 women’s team. Badminton player A Hariharan bagged Rs 30 crore after Indian men’s team won bronze.

Baranica Elangovan received Rs 30 crore for the pole vault bronze, while squash players Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar received Rs 30 crore each after their mixed doubles bronze. Abhay Singh was awarded Rs 50 lakh after winning silver in men’s singles squash.

VITHYA RAMRAJ’S IMPRESSIVE CAMPAIGN AT THE ASIAN GAMES

Ramraj was one of the most prominent Indian athletes at Aichi-Nagoya, returning with three medals from three events. She opened her campaign with a silver in the 4x400m medley relay where she had a strong anchor leg as India clocked 3:14.46. Finishing behind Bahrain was the Indian quartet of Manu TS, MR Poovamma, Vishal TK and Ramraj, who set a Games record of 3:12.87.

Ramraj then delivered a breakthrough performance in the women’s 400m hurdles. She clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to win bronze, and more importantly, breaking PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds.

Usha set the mark at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, while Ramraj equaled it at the 2023 Asian Games. She broke the record by 0.67 seconds in Nagoya, becoming the first Indian woman to break the 55-second mark.

Ramraj capped off her medal run with another strong performance in the women’s 4x400m relay, finishing ahead of Bahrain’s 3:30.21 and China’s 3:31.02. The win also gave India its first athletics gold medal of the Games.

The three medals, mixed relay silver, individual hurdles bronze and women’s relay gold, made Ramraj one of India’s key performers at the Asian Games.

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