"Feels incredible when national anthem plays": Relay gold medallists Kiran, Prachi, Poovamma on Asian Games triumph

New Delhi [India], October 1 (ANI): Emotions ran high for India's women's 4x400m relay gold medallists Kiran Pahal, Prachi Choudhary and MR Poovamma as they received a warm welcome at Delhi Airport on their return from Aichi-Nagoya, with garlands, loud cheers and hugs from family members celebrating their historic triumph at the Asian Games 2026. Kiran, Prachi, Poovamma along with Vithya Ramraj performance clinched its first athletics gold medal of the Asian Games 2026 after the quartet clocked 3:29.69 to finish on top in the women's 4x400m relay final on Tuesday. Bahrain won silver with 3:30.21, while China secured bronze after clocking 3:31.02. Notably, for Prachi and Vithya, the 4x400m relay gold marked their second medal at the Games, with Prachi earlier having won a bronze medal in the women's 400m event and Vithya having clinched a bronze in the women's 400m hurdles event. Speaking to ANI on Thursday upon the contingent's return from Japan, Kiran Pahal said hearing the national anthem after winning gold filled the team with immense pride and dedicated the medal to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the government, her family, coach and the entire nation. "It feels incredible when the national anthem plays. Especially since we hadn't won a medal before this. When the national anthem played for the gold, it filled us with immense pride... I would like to dedicate this medal to the Athletics Federation of India, the government, my family, my coach, and the entire nation," she said. Meanwhile, Prachi Choudhary expressed immense happiness over the relay team's gold medal, saying their next target is to win gold at the World Championships. 'I feel so happy, truly overjoyed, especially since our team has won its first gold medal...Our next target is to win gold at the World Championships,' she said. Poovamma MR said she felt extremely proud of winning gold, especially as India had not won an athletics gold earlier, and thanked her family, the Athletics Federation of India, Sports Authority of India (SAI), and the central as well as the state government for their support. Notably, Poovamma hails from Karnataka. "I am feeling very proud because in athletics there was no gold medal, so we wanted to win this medal very badly here and hear the national anthem. I am thankful to God, my parents, my husband, the Athletics Federation of India, the Sports Authority of India, the Central Government, and the State Government for helping me reach this level," she said. (ANI)