The 7th Indian Open 400m Competition 2026 took place on March 21, 2026, at the LNCPE Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was the season opener for Indian quarter-milers, and it delivered a performance worth talking about.
Tamil Nadu’s Rajesh Ramesh won the men’s 400m with a personal best of 45.26 seconds, making him only the third Indian athlete in history to run sub-46 seconds in the event. In the women’s race, Vithya Ramraj took gold with 53.31 seconds.
All three men’s podium finishers also went under AFI’s Asian Games 2026 qualifying mark of 45.97 seconds, making the meet matter well beyond a single result. Here is the full picture: what happened, who ran, the complete results, and why the day in Trivandrum matters for Indian 400m running in 2026.
7th Indian Open 400m Competition 2026: Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event Name | 7th Indian Open 400m Competition 2026 |
| Date | March 21, 2026 (rescheduled from March 28) |
| Venue | LNCPE Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala |
| Organiser | Athletics Federation of India (AFI) |
| Events | 400m: Senior Men, Senior Women, U20 Men, U20 Women, U18 Men, U18 Women |
| Men’s Winner | Rajesh Ramesh (Tamil Nadu) — 45.26s (Personal Best) |
| Women’s Winner | Vithya Ramraj (Tamil Nadu) — 53.31s |
| Asian Games Qualifying Mark (Men’s 400m) | 45.97s (AFI standard for Aichi-Nagoya 2026) |
| Official Source | indianathletics.in |
A quick note on the date: the meet was originally scheduled for March 28 in the AFI’s November 2025 competition calendar. It was brought forward to March 21 as part of a broader calendar revision by AFI, which also moved the 3rd National Open Relay Competition from April 18 to March 28.
Rajesh Ramesh Wins Men’s 400m with Personal Best 45.26s
Rajesh Ramesh of Tamil Nadu won the men’s 400m Race A in 45.26 seconds, a new personal best and the third-fastest time ever recorded by an Indian athlete in the event.
To put that time in context: only Vishal TK (45.12s, national record) and Muhammed Anas (45.21s) have run faster in Indian athletics history. Ramesh’s 45.26s puts him third on that all-time list.
For Ramesh, the result was also a comeback story. He was sidelined with injuries after the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he competed as part of India’s 4x400m relay squad. In 2025, he came back to clock a season best of 45.75 seconds. His previous personal best before this meet was 45.54 seconds, set at a Polish meet in 2024.
Behind him, Manu TS of NCOE Trivandrum finished second in Race A with 45.96 seconds, also a lifetime best. Amoj Jacob of Delhi won Race C with 45.99 seconds to take third place overall. Notably, all three men recorded sub-46 performances, which is significant for a season opener in March.
The men’s final was conducted over three races (A, B, and C), with the overall standings determined by combined times across all groups.
Indians Who Have Run Sub-46 Seconds in the 400m
| Rank | Athlete | Time | Set At |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Vishal TK | 45.12s (NR) | National Inter-State Athletics Championships 2024, Panchkula |
| 2nd | Muhammed Anas | 45.21s | Asian Athletics Championships 2018 |
| 3rd | Rajesh Ramesh | 45.26s (PB) | 7th Indian Open 400m Competition, Trivandrum, March 21, 2026 |
Three Men Under the Asian Games 2026 Qualifying Mark
This was not just about personal bests. All three men’s podium finishers went under the AFI’s Asian Games 2026 qualifying standard of 45.97 seconds for the men’s 400m, set for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games running from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
That means Rajesh Ramesh (45.26s), Manu TS (45.96s), and Amoj Jacob (45.99s) all have performances that count toward Asian Games selection consideration, provided they also meet AFI’s mandatory competition requirements.
Under AFI’s 2026 participation rules, athletes must compete in at least three domestic competitions, including the State Athletics Championship, to be eligible for the Asian Games squad. The 7th Indian Open 400m, as an AFI-sanctioned competition, counts as one of those required appearances.
The 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Championships in Ranchi (May 22-25) is the next major checkpoint, and athletes must have competed in at least two prior AFI competitions to participate. For Ramesh, Manu TS, and Jacob, the Trivandrum meet now covers one of those mandatory appearances.
Vithya Ramraj Wins Women’s 400m
Vithya Ramraj of Tamil Nadu won the women’s 400m Race A in 53.31 seconds. Rashdeep Kaur of JSW finished second in Race A with 53.62 seconds, while Vijay Kumari GK of Karnataka won Race B in 53.55 seconds to take third place overall. The women’s final was held across two races (A and B).
Vithya Ramraj is better known as a 400m hurdler. She equalled PT Usha’s 39-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds in the 400m hurdles at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, a mark that had stood since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She also won bronze in the 400m hurdles at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.
Her 53.31 seconds in the flat 400m here is consistent with her 2025 form, where she ran 53.00s at the Asian Athletics Championships. The open 400m also feeds into the mixed 4x400m relay program, which is a key event for India heading into the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
For the CWG 2026 in Glasgow, Vithya will need to clock 54.67 seconds in the 400m hurdles to meet the AFI qualification standard, which is tougher than the national record she already equalled.
Full Results: 7th Indian Open 400m Competition 2026
Men’s Results (Senior, U20, U18)
| Pos. | Time | Athlete | State / Club | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 45.26s* | Rajesh Ramesh | Tamil Nadu | Senior Men |
| 2nd | 45.96s | Manu TS | NCOE Trivandrum | Senior Men |
| 3rd | 45.99s | Amoj Jacob | Delhi | Senior Men |
| 1st | 47.11s | Piyush Raj | Bihar | U20 Men |
| 2nd | 47.28s | Sahil Malik | Uttarakhand | U20 Men |
| 3rd | 47.65s | Edvin Mathew | Kerala | U20 Men |
| 1st | 47.73s | Sayed Sabeer | Karnataka | U18 Men |
| 2nd | 48.17s | Thanish Vijay Gaddam | Maharashtra | U18 Men |
| 3rd | 48.31s | Hariharan R | NCOE Trivandrum | U18 Men |
Women’s Results (Senior, U20, U18)
| Pos. | Time | Athlete | State / Club | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 53.31s | Vithya Ramraj | Tamil Nadu | Senior Women |
| 2nd | 53.62s | Rashdeep Kaur | JSW | Senior Women |
| 3rd | 53.55s | Vijay Kumari GK | Karnataka | Senior Women |
| 1st | 54.84s | Reshma | Uttar Pradesh | U20 Women |
| 2nd | 55.46s | Isha Rajesh Jadav | Maharashtra | U20 Women |
| 3rd | 55.63s | Dharani A | Tamil Nadu | U20 Women |
| 1st | 56.46s | Kashish Bhagat | Maharashtra | U18 Women |
| 2nd | 59.54s | Nethra M | Tamil Nadu | U18 Women |
| 3rd | 59.62s | Chaudhary Ashaben | Gujarat | U18 Women |
How the 7th Indian Open 400m Competition Works
The Indian Open 400m Competition is an AFI-organised one-day meet held exclusively for the 400m discipline. Unlike multi-event meets, every race at this competition is a 400m. The format across past editions, including this one, divides competitors into age categories and, within each senior category, runs multiple races (A, B, C for men; A, B for women), with overall rankings based on times across all races.
The meet is open to all age groups, covering Senior, Under-20, and Under-18 categories for both men and women. This makes it one of the few dedicated 400m-only meets on the Indian domestic calendar, and a useful platform for athletes at various stages of development to get early-season competitive exposure.
Competition was held at the LNCPE (Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education) Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which has been the regular venue for this event series. The same venue has hosted multiple editions of the Indian Open 400m meet, making it one of the more established single-discipline athletics venues in South India.
Where the 7th Indian Open 400m Fits in the 2026 Calendar
The 7th Indian Open 400m sits as the first major outdoor track event of the 2026 domestic season for sprinters. India’s full athletics calendar for 2026 has expanded to 40 competitions, up from 32 in 2025, as AFI builds toward two major multi-sport events later in the year.
Key 400m-related dates coming up in 2026:
- March 28: 3rd National Open Relay Competition, Chandigarh (World Relays selection trial; 4x400m squads compete)
- April 4-5: Indian Athletics Series 1 and 2 (Bengaluru, Udaipur; lower entry standards, open to more athletes)
- May 2-3: World Athletics Relays, Gaborone, Botswana (India’s relay teams compete internationally)
- May 22-25: 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Championships, Ranchi (CWG 2026 final selection trials)
- June 24-28: 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships, Bhubaneswar (Asian Games 2026 final selection trials)
- July 23 to August 2: Commonwealth Games 2026, Glasgow, Scotland
- September 19 to October 4: Asian Games 2026, Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
The March 21 result in Trivandrum is now the baseline. Every subsequent meet will either build on or fall short of what Ramesh, Manu TS, and Jacob ran here.
Where Indian 400m Running Stands in 2026
India’s national record in the men’s 400m stands at 45.12 seconds, set by Vishal TK at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Panchkula in 2024.
Vishal TK did not compete at the Trivandrum meet. His absence actually makes Ramesh’s performance more interesting: with the national record holder sitting out the season opener, a challenger has already posted a 45.26 and is pushing toward 45.12.
For context, the Asian Games 2026 qualifying standard for men’s 400m is 45.97 seconds. The standard is tighter than the 2023 Hangzhou edition, where India’s men’s 4x400m relay team set an Asian record of 2:59.05 seconds to reach the World Athletics Championships 2023 final in Budapest. The relay team will need strong individual 400m performers backing them in Gaborone and beyond.
For women, the national record in the 400m flat is held by M.R. Poovamma at 51.05 seconds. Vithya Ramraj’s primary focus remains the 400m hurdles, but her 53.31s flat time confirms solid base speed coming into the season.
How to Access Official Results and Updates
AFI has made digital result submission mandatory for all 2026 competitions. Detailed results, start lists, BIB lists, and rejected entry lists from the 7th Indian Open 400m Competition are available on the official AFI website.
- Official Page:indianathletics.in/7th-indian-open-400m-competition-2026
- Results Page:indianathletics.in/results
- 2026 Circulars:indianathletics.in/circular_category/circular-2026
- AFI Events Calendar:indianathletics.in/afi-events
The AFI also publishes detailed heat results, including preliminary round timings for the women’s event, as PDFs on its website.
Conclusion: Rajesh Ramesh Wins Men’s 400m with Personal Best 45.26s
The 7th Indian Open 400m Competition 2026 in Trivandrum delivered more than a season opener result. Rajesh Ramesh’s 45.26 seconds is a sign of where Indian quarter-mile running is heading: three athletes under 46 seconds in a single domestic meet in March is not something that has happened often.
The next test for these athletes is the 3rd National Open Relay Competition on March 28 in Chandigarh, where the 4x400m relay squad will compete with World Relays qualification on the line. After that, the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May will serve as the final selection trial for the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow.
For all official updates, results, and schedules, visit indianathletics.in.
