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In a disappointing turn of events, the Indian marathon race walk mixed relay team failed to finish the final of the mixed relay event at Paris Olympics 2024. The Indian team consisting Priyanka Goswami and Suraj Panwar, failed to finish their race and ended their Paris 2024 campaign on a disappointing note. Notably, the mixed team walking race made its Olympic debut at Paris after replacing the individual 50km.
India started off on a strong note and were at the 16th spot with a time of 5:32 and distance of 1.4 km having covered. The Indian athletes ascended to the 10th position by the end of the 3.4 km mark and displayed a strong start. However, the Indian athletes further descended to the 14th place, close the frontrunners with only 5-second difference. In the first part of the race, Panwar finished 16th with a time of 44 minutes and 49 seconds while Priyanka dropped to 17th spot and fell short of 91 seconds behind the leader in next 2 kilometers.
However, later, owing to multiple factors, including the loss of contact and bent knee issues, the Indian duo ended prematurely at 33.4km. The marathon race walk saw Spain’s Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez emerge victorious with a time of 2:50:31 and secured the gold medal. The silver and bronze medals were won by Ecuador and Australia, respectively.
It is to be noted that the Indian team faced a series of warnings during the race, which ultimately led to their disqualification. Despite their constant struggle, the technicalities and gruelling demands of the race proved to be a significant obstacle for the Indian duo.
