India’s Prachi Choudhary had a bronze medal around her neck and Olympic silver medallist Salwa Naser by her side after a night to remember in the women’s 400m final at the Asian Games on Saturday. Prachi finished third in 53.21 seconds to win her maiden individual Asian Games medal. Bahrain’s Naser lived up to her billing as the star of the field, winning gold in Games record 49.20 seconds, while Iran’s Zahra Zarei Manoujan took silver in 52.38 seconds.
She finished third in her heat in 53.46 seconds and progressed 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 had come to the Asian Games with a simple target: two medals. One is now secured, and the women’s 4x400m relay is still to come.
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“Look, this time I came here thinking I would take home two medals. So now I have one in the individual event. Next is the relay, and my goal for the relay is to upgrade the colour of the medal compared to last time. That’s my main target for this season,” Prachi said after the race.
The bronze adds an individual medal to a career in which much of Prachi’s success has come in the relay. She was part of India’s silver-medal-winning women’s 4x400m relay team at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. She had also won silver in the same event at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha.
An Indian Railways athlete, Prachi has represented the country at major international competitions and was part of the women’s 4x400m relay team at the Paris Olympics.
The Olympics remain firmly on her mind, but she wants to take the next step and qualify for the individual event as well.
“I participated in the Paris Olympics in the relay event. Next time, my goal is to qualify for the individual event as well as be a member of the relay team,” she said.
‘MY MIND SUDDENLY CLICKS AND SAYS, GO’
Prachi’s biggest push came in the final 50 metres, when she found enough to stay in medal contention. Where did that extra energy come from?
“That just comes to me naturally! Whenever I need to achieve something, it feels like God’s blessing, or whatever it is. My mind suddenly clicks and says, ‘Go, you will get it now.’ So I just went for it,” she said.
There was also a conversation with Athletics Federation of India president Lalit Bhanot before the race that Prachi felt played an important role in lifting her confidence.
“I will do it. And today, what happened, the chief of our federation called me and held 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 today I showed that right here,” she said.
The 400m bronze adds another important chapter to Prachi’s career. Her personal best in the event is 52.40 seconds, recorded in 2023.
She has also been part of the country’s relay teams at major championships, but Saturday’s medal was different. This one had her name on it alone.
Prachi is also a TOPS athlete, having been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme from September 2026. As part of her Asian Games preparation, she received assistance towards training at the National Coaching Camp.
She received Rs 25,000 in financial assistance under TOPS and Rs 4,65,678 under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC).
All of that preparation came together on Saturday night when she finally got her hands on an individual Asian Games medal.
And Prachi was not hiding what the moment meant to her. “Yes, and I am proud of myself. Once I set my mind to something, I get it done,” she said.
The job, however, is not finished. Prachi still has the women’s 4x400m relay ahead of her, where she will try to better the silver India won in Hangzhou.
For now, though, she can savour an individual Asian Games bronze, a medal that looked far from certain when she had to fight her way into the final.
– Ends
