Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Silencing a raucous home crowd in east China, India’s women’s 4x100m relay team delivered a tactical masterclass to secure a spectacular Gold medal on the final day of the Asian Relay Championships 2026 on Sunday.
The Indian quartet, featuring SS Sneha, Sudeshna Shivankar, Tamanna, and veteran anchor Srabani Nanda, produced a technically flawless performance to clock a blistering, season-best time of 43.85 seconds. The effort was just enough to edge out regional heavyweights China, who took Silver in 44.09 seconds, and Thailand, who secured Bronze at 44.11 seconds in a frantic photo finish.
advertisement
Coached by Martin Owens of the Reliance Foundation, the Indian squad executed their race plan to absolute perfection. In a discipline where raw speed can easily be undone by poor baton management, it was the precision inside the exchange zones that ultimately made the difference against the highly favored Chinese team.
The video of the Indian quartet racing to gold in Shaoxing has since gone viral on social media.
The gold-medal triumph capped off a highly lucrative weekend for both Tamanna and Sneha Shanuvalli, who walked away with two medals each. Earlier in the meet, the duo had teamed up with men’s 200m national record holder Animesh Kujur and Pranav Gurav to lock down a bronze medal in the mixed 4x100m relay with a time of 41.27 seconds.
India completed its three-medal haul at the championships with a fighting Silver in the mixed 4x400m relay, courtesy of a 3:17.06 run by Theerthesh P Shetty, MR Poovamma, Barath Sridhar, and Neeru Pathak. While individual brilliance highlighted the shorter sprints, the longer 4x400m relays proved tougher. The Indian women’s 4x400m squad finished just outside the podium spots in fourth place (3:34.88), while the men’s team finished fifth with a time of 3:05.33, as a dominant Vietnam team swept the gold medals in both categories.
‘GOAL IS THE ASIAN GAMES’
With the athletics calendar building toward the Asian Games in Japan later this year, the 4x100m gold serves as a vital psychological blueprint.
For the 35-year-old Nanda, whose international career spans over two decades, the victory is a testament to consistency and clean competition.
“I will definitely say that it is very important to stay clean and that gives a lot of confidence. And you can focus on your competition,” Nanda told the PTI on Wednesday, reinforcing her anti-doping stance.
“We must change the mindset from ‘we can’t do without drugs’ to ‘we can do without drugs’.”
Despite a punishing training regime that Nanda admits has pushed her to the brink of frustration, the ultimate goal remains a career-defining podium finish in Japan.
“For this season, the main goal is the Asian Games and I am hoping for the best,” she added.
With Chandigarh officially announced to host the next edition of the championships in 2027, India’s sprinters have made sure they return home with the ultimate continental bragging rights.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
