New Delhi: The Indian men's 4x400m relay team on Saturday broke the Asian record by clocking 2 minutes 59.05 seconds to qualify for the final round at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest.
New Delhi: The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team on Saturday broke the Asian record by clocking 2 minutes 59.05 seconds to qualify for the final round at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest.
The Indian quartet of Mohd Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Mohd Ajmal Variathodi and Rajesh Ramesh put up a fine run to finish second in Heat-1 behind USA (2:58.47) and qualify for Sunday’s final.
Earlier, Asia’s best record in the relay race was 2:59.51, which was in the name of the Japanese team. The top three finishers from each of the two heats and the next two fastest finishers qualify for the final.
India were sixth after the first leg but Amoj brilliant run took him to second place. Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh not only did well to maintain that lead but also helped the team set a new Asian record of 2:59.05 sec. For a moment it seemed that the Indian quartet would take the first place in the race, but they missed it by a couple of seconds.
Earlier, the men’s Asian record in the relay race was 2:59.51 seconds. Which was made by the Japanese team. But now this record is in the name of the Indian team. The Indian team is also in second place in the list of countries that have reached the finals. The final of the 4x400m men’s relay race will be played on Sunday.
