India’s Seema Kumari won the bronze medal in the women’s 10,000m at the Asian Games 2026 on Thursday, while compatriot Asha Ilango narrowly missed a podium finish in the triple jump.
Seema clocked 32:50.05 to finish third in the 10,000m final. Winfred Yavi of Bahrain claimed the gold in 32:39.18, while Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka took silver after finishing in 32:41.54.
The race remained closely contested in the final stages, with Yavi and Tanaka battling for the top two spots. Seema managed to pull away from the chasing group towards the finish and held on to third place to secure India another athletics medal.
In the women’s triple jump, Asha produced a best effort of 13.83m, matching the distance achieved by China’s Li Yi. However, the Indian was denied bronze on countback as her second-best jump of 13.65m was shorter than Li’s 13.79m.
Asha’s final attempt measured 13.59m, leaving her fourth in the standings despite recording the same best mark as the eventual bronze medallist.
Li’s consistency across her six attempts helped her secure third place, while Uzbekistan’s Sharifa Davronova won gold with a personal-best jump of 14.35m.
Asha’s fourth-place finish came down to the second-best effort after the two athletes finished level on their longest jumps.
India’s Niharika Vashisht also competed in the triple jump but finished 10th as the country’s athletics campaign continued at the continental event.
