Indian 4x400m mixed relay team slip to 23rd in Road to Paris Rankings

The Indian mixed 4x400m relay team went down to 23rd position in the Road to Paris rankings after their dismal show at the just-concluded World Relay Championships in the Bahamas.

The mixed team of Rajesh Ramesh, Rupal Chaudhary, Avinash Krishna Kumar and Jyothika Sri Dandi had to give up on their second chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics as Ramesh, also a member of the Indian men's 4x400m relay team, had to pull out due to muscle cramps.

India finished sixth in the Heat 2 and 25th overall in the mixed relay race, missing out on a chance of a direct qualifying spot on Sunday.

Only the top two finishers were eligible for the quota places. The USA and Nigeria qualified for the Olympics as the top two finishers in the Heat. While the USA quartet clocked 3:11.52s, Nigeria secured the spot racing in 3:13.79s.

The Indian quartet finished at the bottom of the Heat as they clocked a cumulative timing of 3:20.36s, which is much worse than their qualifying cycle best of 3:14.34s, achieved at the Asian Games in Hangzhou at the time of winning a silver medal.

The Indian mixed team suffered another setback on Monday as they had to pull out of the second round of Heat after Ramesh suffered muscle cramps during the men's 4x400m relay race on Sunday.

The Indian quartet now have a tough task in hand as they have to surpass Italy's mark of 3:13.56 seconds to stand a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Italy are the last team to qualify for the mixed relay race.

The Indian 4x400m relay team made their debut in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

However, the Indian men's 4x400m team of Arokia Rajiv, who replaced Ramesh, Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal and Amoj Jacob won the quota place along with the women's relay team of Rupal, M R Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi and Subha Venkatesan.