Thirty minutes of persistence on the track, followed by three minutes of pure drama, gave India a strong start to its Asian Games athletics campaign on Thursday as the country collected a silver and a bronze on the opening day of track and field competition in Nagoya.
At the Paloma Mizuho stadium, the 4x400m mixed relay team produced a performance built on tactical changes, strong opening and finishing legs, and a crucial stroke of luck to finish in 3:14.46 and claim silver in the final event of the day. Minutes earlier, Seema had ended a 16-year wait for an Indian medal in the women's 10,000m, pushing herself to the line in 32:50.05 for bronze and ensuring India opened its athletics medal tally in emphatic fashion.
The relay was a race of shifting fortunes. India's quartet of Vishal T.K., M.R. Poovamma, Manu T.S. and Vithya Ramraj executed their assignments with precision, each leg contributing to a finish that came down to the smallest of margins. Vishal, India's only sub-45-second quartermiler, set the tone with blistering pace. Poovamma and Manu then kept India within striking distance, preventing the team from slipping too far behind the leaders. Vithya, the only surviving member of the team that won silver in 2023, found another gear on the anchor leg and edged past Vietnam by just 0.08 seconds.
India's final lineup was itself a product of tactical thinking. The team had finished second in its heat in the morning with a time of 3:16.23, but for the final the management replaced Jay Kumar and Kiran with Vishal and Vithya. The changes paid off in the most exacting way possible, with the medal decided in the closing strides.
The race also carried its share of controversy. The UAE, which had led for a large part of the contest, suffered a costly mishap when Mariam Kareem dropped the baton just before the final lap. She attempted to retrieve it and continue, but officials disqualified the team. The UAE protested the decision, but the result stood. Bahrain, powered by the indefatigable Salwa Eid Naser, retained top spot and set a new Games record of 3:12.87.
If the relay was about speed and precision, Seema's bronze was about patience, intelligence and endurance. The 25-year-old, competing in her first Asian Games, became only the third Indian woman to medal in the 10,000m at the Asiad, after Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut's famous gold-silver double in 2010. Her race was notable not only for the result but for the way she managed the tempo against a strong field that included Yavi Winfred, Ruth Jebet and local favourite Nozomi Tanaka.
Seema explained that she had initially tried to set the pace before adjusting to the realities of championship racing. "I led for the first couple of laps and then realised that no one was going to [take the] lead because the best runners will always wait for the final laps. I changed my strategy and decided to run like others because this is my first competition at this level," she said.
Her assessment reflected both humility and growing confidence. "At one point, I thought I could go for the win, but I could not push as hard as the others did. But now I have begun to understand the tactics and race strategy. The next time, I will not wait so long to push myself. I will use my learning from here in the 5000m," she added.
Elsewhere, India experienced the other side of championship sport. Triple jumper Asha Ilango came agonisingly close to a medal, finishing fourth with a best effort of 13.83m. Her mark matched that of China's Li Yi, but Asha missed out on countback. Li's next-best jump was 13.79m, while Asha's was 13.65m, leaving the Indian just outside the podium despite a strong contest. Uzbekistan's Sharifa Davronova defended her title with a commanding 14.35m, while China's Huang Yingying took silver with 14.12m. Niharika Vashisht finished 10th with a best of 13m.
There was better news on the track for India's sprinters, as both Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh advanced to the semifinals from their respective 100m heats. In the combined events, Anamika A.K. stood seventh in the heptathlon after four events with 3177 points, while Pooja was ninth on 3159 points.
For India, the opening day in Nagoya offered a vivid snapshot of modern championship athletics: tactical decisions, split-second margins, emotional highs and near misses. The medals from Seema and the mixed relay gave the team momentum, but the narrow misses in the field and the pressure of the sprint and combined events also underlined how demanding the road ahead will be.