Who is the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold in 400m run?

Former Indian quarter-miler Kamaljeet Kaur Kooner emerged as the first Indian female athlete to secure the gold medal at the Bangkok Asian Games on December 4, 1970, in the 400-meter race. She clocked the distance with a timing of 57.3 seconds to stand on top of the podium.

It turned out to be a photo-finish final in the 400m race. Though Kamaljeet started off the race on a smooth race and maintained the lead for the first 200 meters, Taiwan’s favorite race Chi Cheng suddenly surpassed Kamaljeet to take the lead and looked set to finish the race on top and scripting history in Indian athletics.

However, just before 50 meters from the finish line, Chi Cheng collapsed on the track due to severe pain from her muscle pull. Kamaljeet was around 10m behind at the point in time. She was quick to move past Aviva Balass from Israel.

Interestingly, the suspense continued as both Kamaljeet and Balass were timed at 57.8 seconds. However, the camera finish came out with a verdict in Kamaljeet’s favor, propelling her to a gold medal win.

Her 400m race personal best of 55.6 seconds came in 1972. She held the national record for a brief period of timing in both 400-meter and 200-meter races until it was surpassed by Ritan from Kolkata and later by PT Usha, the legendary runner and current IOA chief.

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Kamaljeet Kaur made the cut for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games

Hailing from Firozpur, Punjab, India, Kamaljeet was one of the finalists in the 400-meter race at the World University Games in 1971 in Turin, Italy. Though she made the cut for the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, she couldn't create an impact as she bowed out from the qualification heats.

After the conclusion of the Munich 1972 Olympics, Kamaljeet announced her retirement from the competitive sport in 1973. She took up the coaching role, traveling with the Indian women’s sprint team to Delhi for the Asian Games in 1982.

Kooner was honored with Padma Shri in 1971. Additionally, she was also a national-level basketball and inter-varsity hockey player.