World Athletics Relays 2026: Indian teams fail to reach finals - Highlights
Catch all the Highlights from the first day of action at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Botswana.
Animesh Kujur and Vishal TK to lead Indan relay teams at World Athletics Relays 2026. (Photo Credits: TheBridge)
Five Indian relay teams were in action in the qualifying stage on the opening day of the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, on Saturday.
Animesh Kujur and Vishal TK lead their respective teams but failed to win a spot in the final, which would have also secured a spot for the World Championships 2027.
The teams will now return tomorrow for the second chance at the World Championships quota via repechage.
As it happened:
Do tune in tomorrow for the second day of action as all five Indian teams will be fighting for the World Championships quota.
The Indian team had an off day at the World Relays, with none of the five teams qualifying for the final, and the 4x100m mixed team had a DNF due to a baton drop.
All the teams will now return tomorrow for the second round of qualification for the World Championships.
Here are the final positions of the day for each of the five races.
4x100m Mixed Relay - DNF
4x400m Mixed Relay - 3:16.00s - Finished 18th/22
4x100m Women's Relay - 43.97s - Finished 13th/22
4x100m Men's Relay - 39.07s - Finished 20th/22
4x400m Men's Relay - 3:00.32s - Finished 12th/23
Indian quartet of Dharmveer Choudhary, Rajesh Ramesh, Vishal TK, and Manu TS finished 4th in a highly competitive heat-3 with 4 countries finishing within half a second at the finish line
But they missed out on the spot in the final and will return tomorrow to qualify for the world championships.
India clocked 3:00:32s.
The Indian team will field Dharmveer Choudhary, Rajesh Ramesh, Vishal TK, and Manu TS in the qualifying heat-3.
India has the fourth-best personal best among the eight teams in their heat behind Great Britain, Belgium and Japan.
Here is the startlist:
Indian men's 4x100m team of Harsh Raut, Ragul Kumar, Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh finished 8th in heat-3 of the qualifying round with a season best of 39.07s.
The team failed to qualify for the World Championships today and will be aiming to return tomorrow with another shot at that.
Harsh Raut, Ragul Kumar, Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh will be starting for India in the men's 4x100m team.
India is placed in heat-3 alongside a tough Great Britain, Nigeria, and the Chinese team.
Here is the startlist:
India finished sixth in the heat with a time of 43.97s.
India will field Tamanna, Nithya Gandhe, Sudeshna Shivankar, and Sneha SS in the women's 4x100m relay team.
The team is going to take on the giants like Canada and the USA in Heat 1.
The team clocked 3:16.00s but finished 7th in the heat and will return tomorrow for another shot at World Championships qualification.
Theertesh Shetty, Ansa Babu, Amoj Jacob, and Rashdeep Kaur will be in the Indian team
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