The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team, despite delivering a season-best performance, narrowly missed securing a spot in the Olympics final at the Stade de France on Friday.
The team, comprising Muhammed Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, and Rajesh Ramesh, clocked 3:00.58 to finish fourth in their heat, behind France (2:59.53), Belgium (2:59.84), and Italy (3:00.26). Only the top three teams advanced to the final.
The Indian team started with Anas completing the first leg in 45.79 seconds, placing them in eighth. Ajmal, the fastest of the four, faced challenges as he was blocked by runners from Spain and South Africa but managed to clock 44.55 seconds in the second leg.
Jacob then pushed the team to fourth place during his leg, clocking 45.03 seconds, but was overtaken in the final 50 meters by Italy. Rajesh Ramesh clocked 45.21 seconds in the final leg but couldn't surpass Italy, leaving India in fifth place initially, before being promoted to fourth following the disqualification of the Nigerian team.
The team’s final time, while an improvement from their previous best of 3:03.23 set at the World Relays in May, was not sufficient to advance. Jacob expressed frustration, noting that their goal was to reach the top three.
“There is no point in getting the season’s best. The target was to go to the top three. We (Ajmal) got stuck in the block. So, there was a speed variation,” said Jacob.
“When we reached the first hundred meters, I saw that if we go like this, we won’t be able to reach. I got a chance and went off. I went as far as I could.
“Then I thought that I should hold for a while. There was a curve; there was no point in running outside. As soon as I held back, the speed slowed down and my body got a little tight. Otherwise, I would have gone a little further in the final hundred,” she said.
Women’s team in the 4x400m relay
In the women’s 4x400m relay, the Indian team finished eighth in their heat with a time of 3:32.51, well below their season-best of 3:28.64. The United States, Great Britain, and France advanced from the heat. Jyothika Sri Dandi, who ran the second leg and clocked 51.30 seconds, expressed disappointment in not achieving the expected timing.
With the relay teams' exits, the Indian athletics campaign at the Paris Olympics came to an end.
Dandi said, “We could not clock the timing we expected. We just concentrated on bettering our timing or maybe national record (3:26.89). The track is completely different and I felt like I was running but I couldn’t push.”
“I expected to run here with sub-51 time, but I couldn’t make it. In training everything was fine. After coming on the track it went completely opposite,” said Jyothika.
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