Indian athlete Seema Kumari won the bronze medal in the women's 10,000m race at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, giving India its first athletics medal of the Games.
Seema clocked 32:50.05 in the 10,000m final to finish third and secure a place on the podium. The 25-year-old delivered a superb run in the final on Thursday to win bronze and end a 16-year drought in the event.
Bahrain's Winfred Yavi won the gold medal with a time of 32:39.18, while Japan's Nozomi Tanaka finished second to claim silver after clocking 32:41.54. Yavi and Tanaka were involved in a close battle for the top spot in the final stages of the race, with the Bahraini athlete eventually finishing ahead to secure the gold.
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Seema, meanwhile, maintained her composure in the closing stages and stayed ahead of the chasing pack to finish third and secure the bronze medal for India.
Her bronze marks India's first medal in the women's 10,000m at the Asian Games since 2010. It also gives Indian athletics its first podium finish at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
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Who Is Seema Kumari?
Born on January 10, 2001, in Himachal Pradesh, Seema Kumari is a long-distance runner who has made a name for herself in India's 5,000m and 10,000m events. Her progress has been marked by consistent performances across both distances. She won gold in the senior women's race at the 2024 Asian Cross Country Championships in Hong Kong before winning silver in the 5,000m at the 2025 FISU World University Games.
Seema continued her strong run in 2026, winning gold in the 10,000m at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships. She also produced personal-best performances in both events this year. In March, Seema clocked 32:02.43 in the 10,000m at The TEN in California, finishing fifth in a strong international field. A month later, she set another personal best in the 5,000m with a time of 15:16.20.
At 25, Seema has now added an Asian Games bronze medal to her growing list of achievements, further establishing herself as one of India's leading long-distance runners.
Athletics has traditionally been an important part of India's medal hopes at the Asian Games. At the previous edition in Hangzhou, India won 29 athletics medals, including six gold.
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