Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated distance runner Seema Kumari after she won bronze in the women’s 10,000m at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, earning India its first medal in the event in 16 years.
The Prime Minister’s Office shared PM Modi’s message, in which he praised Seema’s determined performance and said her achievement reflected ‘endurance, discipline and years of hard work’. He further wished her ‘many more successes in the times ahead’.
Proud of Seema on winning the Bronze Medal in the Women’s 10,000m at the Asian Games! Congrats to her.
Her determined performance has brought India a medal in this event after many years. A wonderful achievement that reflects endurance, discipline and years of hard work.…
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 24, 2026
Seema clocked 32:50.05 at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium to finish third behind Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka.
Yavi won gold in 32:39.18, while Tanaka took silver in 32:41.54.
The Indian athlete set the early pace, leading the field through the first 2,000m. She covered the opening 1,000m in 3:18.12 before reaching 2,000m in 6:36.13.
Seema dropped to fourth as the race intensified but stayed within reach of the leaders. With 1,000m remaining, she moved back into third and held the position through the finish.
Yavi finished 10.87 seconds ahead of Seema, while Kazakhstan’s Daisy Jepkemei placed fourth in 33:03.21.
The bronze made Seema 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 edition.
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