Vithya Ramraj
Vithya Ramraj is an Indian sprinter who competes in 400 m hurdles, 400 m and 4×400 m relay. At the 2022 Asian Games, she equalled the national record of 55.42s in 400 m hurdles set by P. T. Usha at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She has represented India in the women's 4x400 m relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Early life
Vithya hails from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Her father is a truck driver and her mother Meena is a home maker. Her identical twin Nithya is also an athlete. Vithya works with Indian Railways. The girls started playing hockey and her mother enrolled them in the Erode Girls Sports School for Class 7. She earned her BBA Degree from Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode on a sports scholarship provided by the KVIT Trust, Perundurai. She received good support from the college management and faculty. Dr. A. Sankar, Director of Physical Education at Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode, encouraged and supported her training and participation in national-level events.Career
Till 2017, Vithya also ran 100m and 200m sprint events but later focussed on 400m hurdles. But she and her coach decided that she will do both 400m and 400m hurdles and she is also continuing with both 100m events. The tournaments she took part in 2023 are:She won a silver medal at the2022 Asian Games, winning the 4x400m mixed relay team along with Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi, Rajesh Ramesh and Subha Venkatesan.
- 15–17 May 2023: 100m and 100m hurdles - Birsa Munda Foot Ball Stadium, Morabadi, Ranchi ;
- 17 June 2023: relay - Indian Championships, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar ;
- 13 July 2023: 100m hurdles - Asian Athletics Championships, Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok ;
- 30 July 2023: relay, mixed relay - Mahinda Rajapaksha Stadium, Diyagama
- 10, 11 September 2023: 400m, 400m hurdles - Indian Grand Prix 5, Chandigarh.
- 2024: Ramraj represented India at the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of the women's 4x400m relay team. The team, which included Jyothika Sri Dandi, Subha Venkatesan, MR Poovamma, Prachi, and Vithya Ramraj, competed in the qualification round on August 9, 2024. They finished 15th out of 16 teams with a timing of 3:32.51, which was insufficient to advance to the final round.
- 2025: Ramraj won bronze in the 400m hurdles at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. She also placed fifth in the 400m flat race with a time of 53.00s. Earlier, she claimed gold in the 400m hurdles at the National Federation Cup in Kochi with a meet record of 56.04s and at the National Games with a time of 58.11s. She also participated in the Taiwan Athletics Open in Taipei, where she secured first place in the 400m hurdles with a time of 56.53s.