Indian relay teams to compete in World Athletics Relays with aim to win Paris Olympics quota
A 15-member strong Indian athletics contingent, comprising men, women and mixed relay teams, will look to seal their Paris Olympics berths
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India’s 4x400m relay teams will look to seal their berths for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024 when they compete in the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 from Saturday.
A 15-member strong Indian athletics contingent, comprising men, women and mixed relay teams, will look to seal their berths, with the men’s relay team looking to make the most impact.
The two-day World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 will see a total of 32 teams competing in the men’s 4x400m, 27 teams in the women’s 4x400m and 30 teams in the mixed 4x400m events.
All eyes will be on the Indian men’s relay team, given their good performances at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 and World Championships in 2023. The quartet of Amoj Jacob, Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Muhammad Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh then won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023, clocking 3:01.58.
As per the World Relay format for the Paris Olympics 2024, the two top teams in each heat on Saturday will advance to the final. They will also secure their berth for the Paris Olympics in the process. The Olympic lane seeding positions will be decided in the finals on Sunday.
All the other teams will compete in an additional round on Sunday, where the top-two teams in each heat will also qualify for the Paris Olympics.
The Indian men’s 4x400m relay squad also includes 2018 Jakarta Asian Games mixed relay gold medallist Arokia Rajiv, Noah Nirmal Tom, Yashas Palaksha and Avinash Krishna Kumar. The four athletes also competed at the Tokyo Olympics but missed a place in the final by a whisker.
India will also feature a seasoned seven-member squad for the women’s 4x400m relay event, led by multiple Asian Games gold-medal winner MR Poovamma. The squad also has the Hangzhou Asian Games silver medal-winning team of Vithya Ramraj, Aishwarya Mishra, Prachi and Subha Venkatesan. Rupal and Jyothika Sri Dandi are the other Indian members.
India will also have high hopes in the mixed 4x400m relay event following their silver medal-winning performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Indian relay teams for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24:
Men’s 4x400m: Amoj Jacob, Avinash Krishna Kumar, Rajiv Arokia, Rajesh Ramesh, Noah Nirmal Tom, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, Muhammed Anas Yahiya and Yashas B.
Women’s 4x400m: Jyothika Sri Dandi, MR Poovamma, Aishwarya Kailash Mishra, Prachi, Vithya Ramraj, Rupal and Subha Venkatesan.
4x400 mixed relay team: Amoj Jacob (M), Rajesh Ramesh (M), Yashas (M), Jyothika Sri Dandi (W), Vithya Ramraj (W) and Rupal (W).
