All five Indian relay teams in action on the opening day of the 2026 World Athletics Relays failed to qualify for the finals in Gaborone, Botswana, on Saturday.
The Indian quartet of Dharamveer Choudhary, Rajesh Ramesh, Vishal TK and Manu TS managed to finish fourth in heat 3 of the men’s 4x400m. They clocked an impressive time of 3:00.32 seconds, a season best.
The top two teams in each heat advanced to the final round and earned an automatic spot for the World Athletics Championships 2027 in Beijing.
The Indian men’s 4x400m that finished 12th overall will get another shot to qualify for the Worlds in Sunday’s second qualifying round.
India’s season best time of 3:01.43 in 4x400m relay was clocked earlier this season in Chandigarh. The national record of 2:59.05 was set at the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships in Hungary.
Meanwhile, the women’s 4x100m team comprising Tamanna, Nithya Gandhe, Sudeshna S and Sneha SS finished fifth in heat 1 with a time of 43.97 seconds, a season best. The Indian women’s team finished 13th overall.
The men’s 4x100m squad also clocked a season best time of 39.07 seconds. The members were Harsh Raut, Ragul Kumar, Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh.
The 4x400m mixed relay team of Theerthesh P Shetty, Ansa Babu, Amoj Jacob, Rashdeep Kaur finished sixth in heat 1. The Indian team clocked 3:16.00 seconds, another season best.
DNF for 4×100 mixed team
The 4x100m mixed relay team of Tamilarasu Senthilkumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS failed to finish the race in the first qualification round after a baton exchange error.
Animesh Kujur, running the third leg, dropped the baton after receiving it from Nithya Gandhe. The team will return on Sunday for the second round of the World Championships Qualifiers.
India was placed in Heat B alongside the heavyweights USA and the strong European teams like Spain and Poland. The top two from each heat will qualify for the final alongside the two fastest non-qualifiers from 3 heats.
Final positions on Day 1
4x100m Mixed Relay – DNF
4x400m Mixed Relay – 3:16.00s – Finished 18th/22
4x100m Women’s Relay – 43.97s – Finished 13th/22
4x100m Men’s Relay – 39.07s – Finished 20th/22
4x400m Men’s Relay – 3:00.32s – Finished 12th/23
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