Indian women’s and men’s 4×400 meter relay teams have qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024. The Indian women’s quartet of Rupal Chaudhary, M R Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi and Subha Venkatesan secured an Olympic ticket by finishing second in the second round heat of the World Athletics Relays. The Indian quartet took a time of 3 minutes 29.35 seconds. The team of Jamaica (3:28.54) stood first in the heat.
Earlier, the Indian women’s team had finished fifth in the qualifying heat with a timing of 3 minutes 29.74 seconds. Later, the Indian men’s team (Mohammad Anas Yahiya, Mohammad Ajmal, Arokia Rajeev and Amol Jacob) stood second in 3 minutes 3.23 seconds. The American quartet (2:59.95) secured first place in the heat.
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. These include javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra who will be defending his crown won in Tokyo Olympics. Athletics events will start from August 1.