Indian men’s 4x400 relay team break 18-year old national record
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The Indian men’s 4x400 relay team on Sunday bettered an 18-year old national record at Erzurum, Turkey to move closer to securing a berth for the Rio Olympic Games. They clocked 3:02.17 sec at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup to better the previous best set at the 1998 Asian Games.
Beating the previous national record of 3:02.62 seconds set in Bangkok at the 1998 Asian Games, the Indian men’s 4x400 relay team inched closer to Olympic qualification at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup in Turkey. This record had stood for 18 years before the 3:02.17 seconds finish eclipsed it. According to the PTI, the men’s team is now placed 17th in the IAAF World Ranking, which would be the criteria for participation in Rio. Only the top-16 teams would make the cut as per qualification norms and the ranking under a stipulated period decided by the IAAF.
At the same event, the Indian women’s team clocked 3:30.16sec and moved to 12th position in the rankings, strengthening their case for qualification. The reigning Asian Games champion team were earlier placed 15th after their performance at the PTS Meeting in Samorin Slovakia.
The Indian team management fielded two teams each in the 4x400 events for men and women at Erzurum. The men’s B team clocked 3:06.61s while the women’s B team finished with a timing of 3:34.45s, PTI wrote.
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