Parul Chaudhary clocked 15:14.61 to grab bronze in the women’s 5000m final at the 2026 Asian Games, trailing Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi who sprinted to gold in 15:10.18, while Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka took silver in 15:11.65.
The seasoned long‑distance runner had already bagged a bronze in the 3000m steeplechase earlier in the Games, smashing her own national record with a 9:08.67 finish. She became the first Indian woman to break the 9‑minute, 10‑second barrier in that event.
Chaudhary’s double podium echoes her 2022 Hangzhou Games haul, where she won gold in the 5000m and silver in the 3000m steeplechase. The consistency over two editions cements her status as India’s premier distance athlete.
With the 5000m bronze, India’s athletics medal tally jumps further, while Chaudhary now eyes the 10,000m final to add another medal to her growing tally.