Fact Check: Did Indian men's relay team qualify for Paris at World C'ships?
A viral video on X says that the Indian men's relay team qualified for the Paris Olympics after the race in the World Championships.
India's 4x400m men's relay team of Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammad Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, and Muhammad Anas Yahiya created new national and Asian records at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
In the age of social media, misinformation can spread rapidly, often leading to widespread misconceptions. Whenever a major sporting event comes close, social media is full of misinformation.
A recent example involves a post circulating on X (formerly Twitter), featuring a video that has garnered significant engagement and views.
The post incorrectly claims that the Indian men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics by finishing second at the World Athletics Relays.
While it is true that both teams have secured their places at the Paris Games, the details provided in the post are misleading and factually incorrect. This underscores the importance of fact-checking before sharing or engaging with content online.
The handle tweeted that the men’s and women’s teams came second in the World Athletics Relay and therefore qualified for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
This first statement is vague as the video is from the 4x400m men's relay heat at the World Athletics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary last year.
It was indeed one of the finest and historic runs we saw in the heat where the Indian Men’s team went neck to neck with the USA team. The Indian team finished second in the heats qualifying for the finals of the game.
The Indian men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams secured their tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics after impressive performances at the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas.
The women's team, comprising Rupal Chaudhary, M R Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi, and Subha Venkatesan, finished second in their second-round heat. They clocked an impressive time of 3 minutes and 29.35 seconds, securing their spot behind Jamaica, who finished with a time of 3:28.54. This performance earned them a well-deserved ticket to the Paris Games.
For the men’s team, Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal, Arokia Rajiv, and Amoj Jacob formed the relay squad. They also finished second in their heat, with a collective timing of 3 minutes and 3.23 seconds, while the USA took the top spot with a time of 2:59.95. Despite not achieving their best time, the Indian men’s team secured their Olympic qualification.