India added another athletics medal to its Asian Games tally on Thursday as the mixed 4x400m relay team of Manu, Vithya Ramaraj, Poovamma and Vishal TK won silver in Nagoya.Vishal TK started for India but could not make much ground early on. Poovamma then took over and India risked slipping out of the medal race before a burst in the final 50m brought the team back into contention. She handed the baton to Manu with India in third.Manu kept India in the race before handing over to Vithya Ramaraj for the final leg. Vithya, known for her strong anchor legs, made up ground on the final lap and pulled India into second place to seal the silver.Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasser had already moved clear at the front and powered her team to gold in a Games-record 3:12.87. India finished in 3:14.46, while Vietnam took bronze in 3:14.54.Earlier in the day, India’s 16-year wait for a women’s 10,000m medal at the Asian Games ended as Seema Kumari won bronze in Nagoya.In a race that built slowly before coming alive in the closing stages, Seema stayed in medal contention until the end. Winfred Yavi and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka broke away for a sprint finish for gold and silver, while Seema pulled clear of the rest of the field to secure third place.Yavi won gold in 32:39.18, with Tanaka taking silver in 32:41.54. Seema completed the race in 32:50.05 to win bronze.It was India’s first women’s 10,000m medal at the Asian Games in 16 years.
