Indian 4 x 400m relay squads qualify for Rio Olympics

Both the men’s and women’s relay teams produced their best performances on Sunday during the third India Grand Prix in Bengaluru. The Indian men’s 4 x 400m relay quartet anchored by Arokia Rajiv, and also comprising of Kunhu Mohammed, Mohammed Anas, and A Dharun, clocked a time of 3:00.91 on Sunday. They also set a new national record by decimating the old record by almost two seconds, which was also set by the same squad in Turkey last month. The new time helped India jump from 18th to 15th in the world rankings for Rio, for which the cut-off date was on Tuesday.

The women’s quartet of Nirmala, Tintu Luka, MR Poovamma, and Anilda Thomas also made the cut for the Olympics by coming 14th in the rankings. They had clocked a time of 3:27.88 on Sunday to remain in the hunt for Rio.

The top-16 list in 4 x 400m relay

Men: Automatic qualifiers (top-8 at 2015 World Relays): 1. USA, 2. Bahamas, 3. Belgium, 4. Jamaica, 5. Brazil, 6. Great Britain, 7. Trinidad, 8. Botswana, 8. Cuba, 9. France, 10. Russia, 11. Dominican Republic, 12. Poland, 13. Colombia, 15. India, 16. Venezuela.

Women: 1. USA, 2. Jamaica, 3. Great Britain, 4. France. 5. Poland, 6. Canada, 7. Australia, 8. Brazil, 9. Nigeria, 10, Russia, 11. Ukraine, I2. Italy, 13. Germany, 14. India, 15. Romania, 16. Netherlands.