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In a disappointing turn of events, the Indian men’s and women’s relay teams failed to qualify for the 4x400 m final at the Paris Olympics 2024 . On Friday, August 9, both relay teams failed to make it to the top 3 of their respective heats, and thus, couldn’t qualify for the finale. While the Indian men’s relay team finished fifth in heat 2 of the first round, the women’s team finished their heat at the eighth spot.
The Indian men’s relay team clocked 3:00.58 second and recorded their season best but failed to secure the final spot by just 0.5 seconds. The team consisting of Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammed Ajmal and Muhammed Anas finished fifth in heat 2 and 11th overall at the Stade-de-France on Friday. Among the four, Ajmal was the quickest runner with the timing of 44.60.
On the other hand, the Indian women’s quartet of Jyothika Sri Dandi, Machettira Raju Poovamma, Vithya Ramraj and Subha Venkatesan clocked 3:32.51 and finished 11th overall, and failed to make it to the final. Among the four, Jyothika was the fastest runner with a timing of 51.30s. In the men’s relay, France (2:59.53), Nigeria (2:59.81) and Belgium (2:59.84) outpaced the Indians and secured the final spot.
With this, India’s athletics campaign came to an end at the Paris Olympics 2024. Neeraj Chopra, who won silver in the men’s javelin throw was the only Indian track and field athlete to clinch a medal.
