Paris quotas elude Indian sprinters on Day one
NASSAU: Second leg runner Rajesh Ramesh pulled out due to cramps as the Indian men’s 4x400m team failed to finish its heat race at the World Athletics Relays here on Sunday, during round one of Paris Olympics qualifications.
The Indian quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammed Ajmal and Amoj Jacob was hoping to book a Paris ticket with a top-two finish in heat number four, but in an utter heartbreak, Ramesh left the race midway while clutching his left leg. Anas had already run the first leg.
“The men’s 4x400m relay team had a good start. Muhammad Anas clocked 45.93 seconds in the first leg, but the second runner -- Rajesh Ramesh -- fell down due to cramps in leg muscles at the first bend,” Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said in a statement.
Ramesh had run the mixed 4x400m race three hours before the men’s event.
India will have another chance on Monday during round two of Olympics qualifications where all the other teams which finished outside top-two in their respective heats on Sunday will try their luck for another shot at the Paris Games. The same quartet had set an Asian record of 2 minutes and 59.05 seconds at the 2023 Budapest World Championships. India had failed to get past the heat round in the Tokyo Olympics.
India also failed to make the Paris Olympics cut in women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relays on the first day of qualifications. Both the Indian teams of mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x400m will have to wait for Monday’s round two of Olympics qualifications.