Will the Indian Women's 4x400m Relay Team miss out on Tokyo Olympics?
The Indian Women's 4x400m Relay Team is at risk of not qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics after missing out on the World Relays.
Indian Women's 4x400m Relay Team at the Asian Games in Jakarta (Photo: AP)
The Indian Women's 4x400m Relay Team looks at the risk of missing out on the Tokyo Olympics qualification after missing out on the recently concluded World Relays in Poland.
The top 16 teams in the Road to Tokyo rankings as of 1st July 2021 are expected to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The Indian team is currently ranked 15th in the world.
The Indian women's 4x400m team last participated in an international event during the World Athletics Championship at Doha in 2019. The World Relays might have been a golden opportunity for the Indians to improve their world rankings and qualify for the Olympics.
The top 8 teams from World Relays in Poland earned direct qualification to the Olympics. While the team from Cuba took home the gold medal, Poland, Great Britain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany and France booked their slot at Tokyo during the two day event.
The Indian women's team needs to participate in at least a couple of tournaments in the coming months to maintain their rankings and stay in contention to qualify for the Tokyo Games. But, if they miss out on competing, they might well have to miss out on the Olympics.
The Men's 4x400m team are currently ranked 14th in rankings with a timing of 3:02.59 and are almost assured of their berth at Tokyo through the top qualification list.
On the other hand, the Mixed 4x400m Relay team had already booked their ticket to Tokyo, thanks to their seventh placed finish at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.