New Delhi: “With every swipe of our phones, we can see your face.” The comment by Vithya Ramraj’s parents made her open her Instagram account, and to her surprise find that her fame had travelled faster than the blistering anchor-leg she ran in the women’s 4x400m relay to win India’s only athletics gold medal at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
In an age of instant reels and swipes, social media can shower you with instant stardom and Vithya’s rapidly rising numbers confirms her status.
From 5K to 65K followers on Instagram and growing by the hour, Vithya is grinning ear-to-ear after her sensational campaign, winning a gold (relay), silver (4x400m mixed relay), and bronze (400m hurdles), which came while breaking PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record. Vithya had equalled the mark at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
Vithya is basking in her newfound fame, which she had desperately sought since Hangzhou. The sprinter from Coimbatore has emerged the star of India’s track and field campaign.
“I am so happy that everyone is coming and telling me that whenever we open the phone, be it Instagram, X or Facebook, it’s coming to you only,” Vithya told HT.
“My mom told me it’s full of your videos. My father is on YouTube and he was checking it again and again. In 2023, after I won a medal, I didn’t get followers. I felt like I didn’t get any popularity. After this campaign, I feel like I am the star of Instagram today,” said a smiling Vithya, who trains at the Inspire Institute of Sports under her coach Nehpal Singh.
Nehpal had asked Vithya to not post any race reels or posters and to focus on training. “My coach said, ‘You win medals and followers will come.”
One viral reel is of Vithya chasing down China’s Siyu Zuo on the final bend and holding off Paris Olympics bronze medallist Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain to snatch a spectacular relay win. Another is of her fighting finish in the mixed relay, edging out Vietnam to take silver. The 400m hurdles final where she broke Usha’s record was special, and she jumped in elation as the time flashed on the stadium scoreboard. Usha had clocked 55.42secs in the final of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, missing the bronze by a whisker. Vithya ran 54.75secs.
“She (Usha) was so happy and told me records are meant to be broken. ‘You broke it because you went sub-55 seconds’.”
“We have been training for this record for three years. In every competition, I was trying to give my best.”
The night before her first competition (mixed relay), her coach asked Vithya if she would like to run the anchor leg. She had not done that in a major championships and here was an opportunity to either become the face of the team or cope criticism, the lot of the anchor runners. Vithya was in two minds, but agreed.
“Initially I said no. As an anchor, for two and a half minutes you’re standing and watching the other three runners. That makes you a little nervous. I told my coach I cannot take that pressure, but he gave me the confidence that I was capable of a strong finish.
“If I finish well, it’s gold. If I don’t, it will be silver, bronze, or anything.”
She complimented the others—Kiran Pahal, seasoned MR Poovamma and Prachi Chaudhary—as they put her in a strong position. The strongest runner in the field was Bahrain’s Naser, who ran 49.20secs to win the 400m with a Games record.
But she collected the baton fourth, well behind India when Vithya exploded into the final leg. Naser charged past three runners, but wasn’t able to catch Vithya, finishing with a silver. India clocked 3:29.69 to Bahrain’s 3:30.21secs. It made amends after India lost the gold to Bahrain in Hangzhou, ending a five-edition Asiad gold streak in the event.
“Everyone knows Naser can run possibly 48secs (PB 48.14s). My teammates said if we three ran well, we will give you the maximum lead, and that helped. If I had not pushed that much, she would have come closer. Still, at the finish she was beginning to catch me. It was a great team effort.”
Vithya’s focus will now turn to the 2028 LA Olympics. “The goal is to go under 54secs (400m hurdles). It is possible. I want to compete in international meets against strong competitors that will help me push myself. I was able to break the record here because the competition was so strong. I will sit with my coach and make a plan.”
For now, Vithya wants to return home to celebrate the success with her family, which includes her sprinter sister Nithya. Meanwhile, Nehpal has allowed her to post a few reels and keep her Instagram followers engaged.