“Hope she will get gold”: Southern Railways coach Nizamudeen backs Vi…

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 29 (ANI): Southern Railways Chief Athletics Coach Nizamudeen hailed Vithya Ramraj’s record-breaking bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026 and expressed hope that she would clinch a gold medal as well in the women’s 4x400m relay, scheduled for today (September 29).

The Indian athlete created history on Monday by surpassing PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles. Ramraj had earlier equalled the mark in the semifinals of the event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. ipltable.lol

In Monday’s final in Nagoya, the track at the Mizuho Stadium was moist in the lead-up to the race, with rain and drizzle leaving conditions challenging. Despite this, Ramraj cleared all 10 hurdles to finish third behind UAE’s Mariam Kareem, who won gold in a Games-record 54.31 seconds, and Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems, who took silver in 54.58 seconds.

Ramraj clocked a personal best of 54.75 seconds to win bronze and beat Usha’s national record of 55.42 seconds, set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Her effort brought an end to the long-standing record, which had remained untouched since those Games.

“Vithya Ramraj has clinched a bronze medal in the Asian Games, creating a new national record with a time of 54.75 seconds, and she broke the 42-year-old record of India set by the Golden Girl of India, PT Usha, in the year 1984 with a timing of 55.42 seconds," Nizamudeen told ANI.

The coach also backed Ramraj and the Indian women’s 4x400m relay team to challenge for gold, with the relay event scheduled for Tuesday.

“Tomorrow [Tuesday] she is also having a 4×400 women’s relay. I hope that the team will also get a gold medal. She got one silver, one bronze, and is missing a gold. I hope she will get gold," he added.

Ramraj will now turn her attention to the women’s 4x400m relay, where she will have another opportunity to add to her medal tally at the Asian Games. (ANI)

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The former Ireland international ED Joyce has been appointed as the men’s high-performance batting coach. Joyce, who has played for both Ireland and England, will begin in his role immediately.

He will return to the Cricket Ireland board after six years as Ireland women’s coach. Taking charge of the women’s team in 2019, he oversaw a period of development and improved the side’s performance before stepping down as head coach in February 2025.

He will now be working alongside Ireland men’s head coach Gary Wilson and High Performance Director Graeme West.

Joyce said continuing his involvement with Irish cricket had been a priority since his playing retirement and that his experience with the women’s side had reinforced his interest in working closely with players on their technique and mindset.

“The modern game has changed and evolved greatly in recent years, and whether it’s the men’s or women’s side of the sport, several fundamentals have held,” said ED Joyce.

“Despite the power game coming to the fore, having a sound technique and a positive mindset are still crucial aspects for any batter at this level.”

“When I look at the Ireland Men’s side over recent years, it’s obvious to see the amount of hard work that has gone on behind-the-scenes in preparing our players to be competitive on the international stage.”

“I look forward to getting involved in this work and perhaps adding some insights and knowledge to push the batting group forward. The talent is there, the goal is now consistency,” concluded ED Joyce.

“Whether as player or coach, Ed Joyce has been an absolute asset to Irish cricket and we are delighted to have him return to our coaching ranks,” said Cricket Ireland high performance director Graeme West.

“He was an outstanding and technically renowned batter during his playing days, and his coaching abilities were on full display during his stint as Ireland Women’s head coach. With a busy off-season approaching, Ed’s appointment is timely, and he will begin working with the players immediately.”

New Delhi [India], September 29 (ANI): Managing Saikhom Mirabai Chanu’s training load to keep her injury-free while ensuring she peaked at the Asian Games was the primary focus of the chief coach of the Indian national weightlifting team, Vijay Sharma, who said the approach ultimately helped the Indian weightlifter secure the silver medal that had eluded her at the continental showpiece.

Mirabai returned to India on Tuesday morning after winning silver in the women’s 49kg category at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, completing her medal collection at the major international events.

Talking to ANI in New Delhi, Sharma said the training programme was specifically designed to prevent injury after Chanu’s previous Asian Games campaign had ended in disappointment.

“We had been eagerly awaiting this medal; luckily, thanks to Mira’s hard work, she secured it, bringing immense joy to both the country and me. Her efforts truly paid off. We had a single aim because we had missed the Asian Games previously due to injury; in the last competition, too, an injury had left us finishing fourth," he told ANI.

“My goal was simply to design a training program that would keep Mira injury-free, and we succeeded in that. We managed the training load to ensure peak performance without risking injury; luckily, we succeeded, and the result was winning the medal," the Dronacharya Awardee coach added.

The 32-year-old Chanu lifted a combined 198kg to win silver, completing all three of her snatch attempts at 83kg, 85kg and 87kg before lifting 107kg and 111kg in her first two clean and jerk attempts.

North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won gold with a total of 215kg, while Wijayana claimed bronze.

The medal marked a significant moment in Chanu’s career as the 32-year-old finally added an Asian Games medal to a collection that already includes an Olympic silver, three Commonwealth Games gold medals, a World Championships gold and medals at the Asian Championships.

Chanu had missed out on the podium at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 after an injury forced her to withdraw from her final clean and jerk attempt, leaving her fourth.

Three years later, she returned to the Asian Games and secured the silver that had been missing from her medal cabinet.

Chanu had entered the Asian Games on the back of a gold medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026, her third Commonwealth Games title after victories at the 2018 Gold Coast and 2022 Birmingham editions.

With her Asian Games silver, Chanu also became the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleshwari to win medals at the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Championships. (ANI)

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