South Korea, 29 May, 2025 – After winning the title two years in a row, Vietnam narrowly lost to India in the women’s 4x400m relay final at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships on the night of May 29.
Due to heavy rain at Gumi Stadium, all events were delayed. The women’s 4x400m relay final took place at 11:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. Hanoi time). Vietnam, the gold medalist in both 2023 and 2024, was expected to complete a golden hat-trick.
The Vietnamese team—Quach Thi Lan, Hoang Thi Minh Hanh, Nguyen Thi Hang, and Nguyen Thi Ngoc—competed against rivals from Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. They started in lane 6.
Ngoc ran the first leg, but the gap was minimal. In the second leg, Hang was overtaken by India’s runner, Rupal Chaudhary, who had just won silver in the women’s 400m the day before, creating a 5 to 7-meter lead.
Lan ran the third leg and regained the lead for Vietnam with a small advantage. In the final leg, Hanh faced strong competition from Sri Lanka. The top three runners battled step for step. With about 100 meters left, the Indian athlete surged ahead, leaving Minh Hanh unable to keep pace.
In the end, Vietnam finished second with a time of 3 minutes 34.77 seconds, significantly slower than their 2024 gold-winning time of 3 minutes 30.81 seconds. India took the gold with 3 minutes 34.18 seconds, while Sri Lanka came third at 3 minutes 36.67 seconds. Experts noted that India’s squad this year was stronger than last year.
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