New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) President Droupadi Murmu congratulated Harita Bhadra and Ancy Sojan on their medal-winning performances at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, after the Indian athletes claimed bronze in the women’s 200m and silver in the women’s long jump respectively on Sunday.
“Warm congratulations to Harita Bhadra on winning the Bronze Medal in the Women’s 200 Metres event at the Asian Games 2026. In a highly competitive race, you held your ground to secure a memorable finish. May you continue to pursue excellence,” the President posted on X.
Murmu also congratulated Ancy for her silver-medal performance in the long jump.
“Heartiest congratulations to Ancy Sojan on securing the Silver Medal in the Women’s Long Jump event at the Asian Games 2026. Your performance in a thrilling final is a testament to your skill and determination. May you continue to scale greater heights,” she posted.
Harita won the bronze medal in the women’s 200m final with a time of 23.20 seconds, finishing only one hundredth of a second ahead of Japan’s sprinter.
Veronica Shanti Pereira of Singapore secured the gold medal with a time of 22.78 seconds, Chen Yujie from China won the silver with 22.93 seconds, and Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland of India came in sixth place with 23.46 seconds.
Harita’s medal finally ended India’s absence from the women’s 200 metres podium at the Asian Games since Dutee Chand won a bronze medal in 2018. The 23-year-old, who was attending her first Asian Games, took part in the event after having improved her personal best to 23.14 seconds at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.
For most of the competition in the women’s long jump, Ancy was in a good position to win having opened with a jump of 6.49 metres. Although her second attempt was a foul, her first jump still kept her at the top.
In the fifth round Huang Yingying achieved a jump of 6.49 metres, but Ancy then jumped 6.53 metres to take the lead again.
Huang nevertheless jumped 6.55 metres with her last attempt to edge Ancy by two centimetres, while Ancy’s final jump was 6.49 metres and this earned her the silver medal.
Shaili Singh, who was still in with a chance of winning a medal right up to the end of the competition, came fourth with a jump of 6.42 metres, while China’s Mengyi Tan reached third place by jumping 6.46 metres on her last attempt.
In 2026, Ancy’s performance contributed to a breakthrough season for her, during which she set a national record of 6.88 m at the event on the World Athletics Continental Tour in Bhubaneswar.
–IANS
hs/