New Delhi: The Indian women’s 4x100m relay team produced a superb performance to clinch the gold at the 2026 Asian Relay Championship, defeating strong opposition from China in a thrilling performance in a personal best time of 43.85 seconds.The quartet of Srabani Nanda, SS Sneha, Sudeshna Shivankar and Tamanna produced a close race, combining sharp baton exchanges and explosive speed to edge ahead of China, who took silver in 44.09 seconds. Thailand took the bronze with 44.11 seconds in a very tight race.Coached by the Reliance Foundation’s Martin Owens, the Indian team successfully executed their tournament plan, marking one of the most successful matches in recent years.
A powerful force in the Indian campaign
The gold medal went well to Tamanna and Sneha Shanuvalli, who finished the tournament with two medals each. Earlier, both played a major role in India’s 4x100m medley relay along with Animesh Kujur and Pranav Gurav.The mixed quartet clocked 41.27 seconds to secure third place behind Thailand (41.14s) and China (41.29s), ensuring that India will remain a contender in the track and field events.India also added silver in the 4x400m medley relay, where Theerthesh P Shetty, MR Poovamma, Barath Sridhar and Neeru Pathak combined for the fastest time, finishing in 3:17.06 seconds behind Vietnam.WATCH: Indian team strikes 4x100m gold
Mixed results in the 4x400m relay
Despite the sprint win, India were disappointed in the 4x400m relay event. The women’s team of MR Poovamma, Rashdeep Kaur, Ansa Babu and Saloni Nagar finished fourth in 3:34.88 seconds, missing out on the podium as Vietnam took the gold in 3:31.16.In the men’s 4x400m relay, Theerthesh P Shetty, Avinash Kumar, Suraj Alagar Raja and Barath Sridhar finished fifth with a time of 3:05.33, as Vietnam beat the field again to win the gold.
India finished with a haul of three medals
Overall, India finished the tournament with one gold, one silver and one bronze, proving a competitive but uneventful campaign across the board. The absence of the men’s 4x100m team due to injury also affected the chances of a medal.The 2026 edition served as an important event ahead of a packed sporting calendar, including the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. India will also host the Asian Relay Championship in 2027 in Chandigarh.
