2024-05-12 07:59:23
Nassau (Bahamas): The Indian women’s and men’s 4×400 meters relay teams qualified for the Paris Olympics by finishing second in the second round heats at the World Athletics Relays. The quartet of Rupal Chowdhary, M R Poovamma, Jyotika Sri Dandi and Shubha Venkatesan clocked 3:29.35 seconds to book their ticket to Paris by finishing second behind Jamaica (3:28.54) in the first heat.
The Indian team finished fifth in the first round qualifying heat on Sunday with a timing of three minutes 29.74 seconds. Later, the men’s team (Mohammad Anas Yahya, Mohammad Ajmal, Arokia Rajiv and Amol Jacob) finished second behind America (2:59.95) with a timing of 3 minutes 3.23 seconds.
In the second round, the top two teams from the three heats qualified for the Olympic Games to be held from July 26 to August 11. In the first round, the men’s team could not complete the race because second round runner Rajeev Ramesh had to drop out midway due to a muscle strain. Now 19 Indian track and field players have qualified for the Paris Olympics, including javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra. Athletics competitions will start from August 1.