India’s mixed 4x400m relay team of Rajesh Ramesh, Rupal, Avinash Krishna Kumar, and Jyothika Sri Dandi made history as the first Indian team to take the tracks at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium. However, their efforts were not enough as they finished in sixth place in heat 2 with a timing of 3:20.36.
On the other hand, India’s men’s 4x400m relay team of Anas Yahiya, Ramesh, Ajmal, and Jacob suffered a setback when Ramesh was unable to continue in the second leg due to an injury. Despite Anas running a 45.93 in the opening split, which was the second-best among teams in the heat, they did not finish their race.
Meanwhile, Botswana (2:59.73) and South Africa (2:59.76) emerged as the top finishers in heat 4 and secured Paris 2024 qualification for themselves.
In women’s competition, Vithya Ramraj led India’s quartet that clocked 3:29.74 to finish fifth in heat 1. Even though they missed out on an Olympic quota on Sunday, they still have another chance on Monday as all teams who did not make it to the finals will compete in an additional qualifying round. The top two teams from each heat will qualify for Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite not qualifying for Paris 2024 at World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 yet, there is still hope for India as they can secure a spot based on their rankings during the qualification period from December 31st, 2022 to June 30th