BD NarayankarAichi-Nagoya, Sept. 29 -- There are medals that glitter, and then there are medals that tell a story.
India has won plenty of the first kind at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. But the more interesting story of these Games lies in the second kind - the medals accompanied by a record, a personal best, a historic first or a drought finally brought to an end.
Consider Vithya Ramraj.
When the Indian crossed the finish line in the women's 400m hurdles in 54.75 seconds for bronze, she did more than secure a place on the podium. She finally erased a record that had acquired almost the status of sporting scripture - P.T. Usha's 55.42 seconds, set 42 years ago. Ramraj had equalled Usha's mark at Hangzhou in 2023; in Nagoya, she went one...