India’s Seema Kumari ended the country’s 16-year wait for a medal in the women’s 10,000m at the Asian Games, winning bronze in the final at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Thursday.
Seema clocked 32:50.05 to finish third behind Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, who won gold in 32:39.18, and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka, who took silver in 32:41.54.
The Indian long-distance runner made a strong start and led the field through the opening 2,000m. She covered the first 1,000m in 3:18.12 before reaching the 2,000m mark in 6:36.13.
As the pace increased, Seema dropped to fourth but remained close to the leading runners. With 1,000m remaining, she regained third position and held on through the final stages to secure the bronze.
Seema finished 10.87 seconds behind Yavi, while Kazakhstan’s Daisy Jepkemei was fourth in 33:03.21.
Her bronze made Seema only the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the 10,000m. Preeja Sreedharan won gold and Kavita Raut took silver in the event at the 2010 Asian Games.
Born on January 10, 2001, in Himachal Pradesh, Seema specialises in the 5,000m and 10,000m events and has emerged as one of India’s leading distance runners.
She entered the Asian Games after a strong 2026 season. In March, she clocked a personal best of 32:02.43 in the 10,000m at The TEN in California, finishing fifth in a competitive international field. She improved her 5,000m personal best to 15:16.20 in April.
Seema’s recent achievements include a silver medal in the 5,000m at the 2025 FISU World University Games, gold in the senior women’s race at the 2024 Asian Cross Country Championships in Hong Kong and gold in the 10,000m at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in 2026.
Earlier on Thursday, India’s Animesh Kujur and national record holder Gurindervir Singh advanced to the men’s 100m semifinals.
Kujur finished third in Heat 1 in 10.36 seconds, while Gurindervir was second in Heat 4 in 10.38 seconds. The top three finishers from each heat qualified automatically, with both Indians securing their places. The men’s 100m semifinals will be held on Friday.
(IANS Inputs)
