Vithya Ramraj dominates 400m hurdles, clocks second-fastest time in Asia this year

Kochi:
and legendary athlete
have one thing in common. The two hold the
women's 400m hurdles
record with a time of 55.42 seconds. On Wednesday at the Maharaja's College Stadium here in K o c h i , Vithya couldn't come anywhere close to that record but dominated the event from start to finish.
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She clocked 56.04 seconds to smash the meet record and grabbed the women's
400m hurdles
gold on Day 3 of the 28th
National Federation Senior Athletics Competition
. She erased the mark set by Saritaben Gayakwad (57.21s) in the Patiala meet six years ago.
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The victory also offered Vithya some consolation after being pushed to second place in the women's 400 by Uttar Pradesh's Rupa on Tuesday. Kerala's Anu R finished second with a time of 58.26 seconds, while Aswini R (1.02.41) of Tamil Nadu bagged the bronze.
However, Vithya rued the lack of competition in the event. 'It was a good track and good conditions, but I didn't feel challenged. 'After a point, all my rivals were far behind, and I felt as if I was competing with myself. I could have improved the timing a bit more if there was better competition,' she said.
Vithya's effort in Kochi is the second-fastest time in Asia this year, and if she can do an encore at the Asian Championship in South Korea next month, she can expect a podium finish.
However, more than securing a medal at the Asian event, Vithya's primary target is to achieve a personal best, which would see her erasing Usha's 40-year-old record.

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