Men’s relay quartet scorches the track

The opening day of the 3rd & 4th Indian Grand Prix concluded in a stunning fashion as an unheralded Indian men’s 4x400m relay team set a new national record and also brightened their chances of making it to the Rio Olympics at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Sunday.

The quartet of Arokia Rajiv, Kunjomon, Moh-ammed Anas and Ayyasamy Dharun set the track on fire clocking 3:00.91 seconds to smash the national record of 3:02.17 sec that was set at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup in Erzurum, Turkey last month.

“We have been trying hard from one and half years and finally it clicked here. Very thankful to the AFI for giving us another chance to qualify for the Olympics and it clicked,” said an elated Rajiv.

India B were second with 3:04.28sec while India C finished third clocking 3:11.47sec.

Having improved their performance, the men’s team leapfrogged to 13th place from 18th in the latest qualifying rankings. As per the IAAF regulations, the top-16 teams as per qualification norms and world rankings will qualify for Rio.

AFI secretary C.K. Valson said, “We never expected this timing from the men’s relay team at all. It is good to see them rectify their mistakes.”