The 25-year-old Seema Kumari ended India’s long wait for an Asian Games medal in the women’s 10,000m event, as she won the bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026.
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the women’s 3,000m event, Winfred Yavi from Bahrain, unsurprisingly claimed the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 after completing the women’s 10,000m race in 32:39.18 minutes. While she previously won three Asian Games gold medals, it was her first Asian Games gold medal in the women’s 10,000m race event.
Japanese Nozomi Tanaka won the silver medal after finishing the race by less than three seconds of the gold medalist (32:41.54). Indian Seema Kumari secured the bronze medal after completing the race in 32:50.05 minutes. Fourth-placed Daisy Jepkemei from Kazakhstan (33:03.21) had her season-best record, while the 10th-placed Vanessa Lee from Singapore (36:00.95) and 12th-placed Nicole Low Sui Xuan from Singapore (36:48.31) produced their respective personal-best performances.
Seema Kumari brought India’s historic Asian Games medal in women’s 10,000m: 1st in 16 years
The Indian athlete Seema was leading at the 2,000m mark (6:36.13) and maintained her position well to secure a historic medal for India. It was India’s third Asian Games medal in the women’s 10,000m event, while Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut won gold and silver medals, respectively, in the 2010 edition.
Asian Games 2026: Women’s 10,000m — Final Scores
Rank | Name (Nationality) | Result | GAP | Note |
Gold | Winfred Yavi (Bahrain) | 32:39.18 | ||
Silver | Nozomi Tanaka (Japan) | 32:41.54 | +2.36 | |
Bronze | Seema Kumari (India) | 32:50.05 | +10.87 | |
4 | Daisy Jepkemei (Kazakhstan) | 33:03.21 | +24.03 | Season Best |
5 | Ruth Jebet (Bahrain) | 33:22.21 | +43.03 | |
6 | Nguyen Thi Oanh (Vietnam) | 33:44.92 | +1:05.74 | |
7 | Mariia Korobitskaia (Kyrgyzstan) | 33:54.47 | +1:15.29 | |
8 | Harim Jo (Republic of Korea) | 34:34.66 | +1:55.48 | |
9 | Nomin-Erdene Bayartogtokh (Mongolia) | 35:54.33 | +3:15.15 | |
10 | Vanessa Lee (Singapore) | 36:00.95 | +3:21.77 | Personal Best |
11 | Santoshi Shrestha (Nepal) | 36:20.84 | +3:41.66 | |
12 | Nicole Low Sui Xuan (Singapore) | 36:48.31 | +4:09.13 | Personal Best |
13 | LE Thi Tuyet Mai (Vietnam) | 38:00.87 | +5:21.69 |
Who is Seema Kumari?
Seema Kumrai won a bronze medal in the 2017 Asian Youth Athletics Championships (women’s 3000m), a gold medal in the 2024 Asian Cross Country Championships (women’s 10,000m), and a silver medal in the 2025 World University Games (women’s 5000m).
Currently, Seema has the World Athletics rank of 110 in women’s 10,000m and 149 in women’s 5000m.
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