Seema Kumari won bronze in the women’s 10,000m at the 2026 Asian Games, ending India’s 16-year medal drought in the event.
Indian distance runner Seema Kumari won the bronze medal in the women’s 10,000 metres at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, delivering India’s first athletics medal of the competition.
The 25-year-old completed the race in 32 minutes, 50.05 seconds at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on September 24.
Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi claimed gold in 32:39.18, while Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka secured silver with a time of 32:41.54.
Seema Stays in Medal Contention
Seema began confidently and led the field through the opening 2,000 metres. She covered the first kilometre in 3:18.12 and reached 2,000 metres in 6:36.13.
As the leading group increased the pace, the Indian runner briefly slipped to fourth. She regained third place with approximately 1,000 metres remaining and maintained her position through the closing stages.
Kazakhstan’s Daisy Jepkemei finished fourth in 33:03.21, more than 13 seconds behind Seema.
India’s 16-Year Medal Drought Ends
Seema’s result ended India’s 16-year wait for an Asian Games medal in the women’s 10,000m.
The country’s previous medals in the event came at the 2010 Guangzhou Games, where Preeja Sreedharan won gold and Kavita Raut took silver. Seema has now become only the third Indian woman to reach the Asian Games podium in the event.
Her bronze was also India’s first track-and-field medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Later in the day, the Indian mixed 4x400m relay team added a silver medal.
Who Is Seema Kumari?
Born in Himachal Pradesh on January 10, 2001, Seema competes primarily in the 5,000m and 10,000m events.
She won the senior women’s race at the 2024 Asian Cross Country Championships and followed it with a 5,000m silver medal at the 2025 FISU World University Games.
Seema entered the Asian Games after a strong 2026 season. She recorded a personal best of 32:02.43 in the 10,000m at The TEN competition in California and later won the event at India’s National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.
Her performance in Nagoya adds a major continental medal to her growing record and reinforces her position among India’s leading long-distance runners.
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