Indian men, women 4x400m relay teams earn berths at Paris Olympics

The Indian 4x400m relay teams, both women and men, qualified for the Olympics in Paris after finishing second in their respective second round heats at the World Athletics Relays held in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday.

In heat number one of the women’s tournament, Jamaica (3:28.54) finished first, with Rupal Chaudhary, MR Poovamma, Jyotika Sri Dandi and Subha Venkatesan finishing second and securing a ticket to the Paris Games.

The men’s team, comprising Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Muhammad Ajmal, Arokia Rajeev and Amoj Jacob, finished second in their heat with a combined time of 3 minutes and 3.23 seconds, behind only the USA (2:59.95).

The two teams that finish highest in the three heats during the second round will advance to the Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to August 11.

In the first round qualifying heat on Sunday, the Indian women’s team finished seventh with a timing of 3 minutes and 29.74 seconds.

The men’s team was unable to complete the first round qualifying heat as runner Rajesh Ramesh withdrew due to cramps midway through the second round.

With this, 19 track and field competitors from India are going to Paris, including reigning javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra.

The athletics events of the Paris Olympics will start from August 1.