India’s Harita Bhadra won the women’s 200m bronze medal in the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday, pipping Japan’s Ido Abigeirufuka by just 0.01s to continue the country’s medal hunt in athletics. Bhadra clocked 23.20s, just ahead of Abigeirufuka, who finished at 23.21 seconds.
Singapore’s Shanti Pereira won the gold with a season-best 22.78 seconds, while China’s Chen Yujie took the silver in 22.93 seconds. The other Indian in the final, Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland, finished sixth with a timing of 23.48 seconds. It was Bhadra’s maiden Asian Games outing.
Hailing from Navi Mumbai, Bhadra is a promising sprinter specialising in women’s 200m and represents Maharashtra at the state level. She has developed through the national sprint programme and has steadily improved her speed and competitive consistency.
Her breakthrough in 2026 came with a personal best of 23.14s – a gold medal-winning show at the Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships – a performance that met the Asian Games qualification standard. Her national championship victory and improving performances have established her among the leading emerging women’s 200m runners in the country.
She also won the women’s 100m at the 2026 Indian Athletics Series final meet at New Delhi, clocking 11.22s and set the second-fastest Indian time in the event. Previously, she clocked 11.46s at World Athletics Silver Level Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneswar in August 2026 in the same event.
She had also won the 60m national indoor title clocking 7.32s in 2026.
Track an field is not the only interest or Bhadra. She is also an entrepreneur, having started a jewellery business on her own. Going by her Instagram, Bhadra’ brand is named as Daagina, which produces anti-tarnish jewellery.
