Indian Men's, Women's 4x400m relay teams earn spots in Paris Olympics

Nassau: Indian 4x400m relay teams, both women's and men's, qualified for the Olympics in Paris on Monday after placing second in their respective second-round heats at the World Athletics Relays held here at Nassau, Bahamas on Monday.

In heat number one of the women's tournament, Jamaica (3:28.54) finished first, with Rupal Chaudhary, M R Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi, and Subha Venkatesan finishing second and earning a ticket to the Paris Games.

The men's team, which includes Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Muhammad Ajmal, Arokia Rajiv, and Amoj Jacob, finished second in their heat with a combined time of 3 minutes and 3.23 seconds, trailing only the USA (2:59.95).

The two teams that placed highest in each of the three heats during the second round would advance to the Olympics which will take place from July 26 to August 11.

In the first-round qualifying heat on Sunday, the Indian women's team placed seventh in a timing of 3 minutes and 29.74 seconds.

The men's team was unable to complete the first-round qualifying heat after Rajesh Ramesh, the second-leg runner, withdrew due to cramps halfway through.

With this, India has 19 track and field competitors headed to Paris, including Neeraj Chopra, the reigning javelin throw champion.

The athletics events of the Paris Olympics will start on August 1.