Chandigarh, March 28 – The members of the national men’s 4x400m relay and mixed 4x100m relay squad were excited to improve their global rankings at the "Road to Gaborone" event held at the Sector 7 Sports Complex in Chandigarh on Saturday.
The World Athletics Relays will be held on May 2 and 3 in Gaborone, Botswana.
However, the men's 4x100m relay team faced disappointment as they were disqualified in the heats at the first International Invitational Relay Competition and the third National Open Relay Competition held in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Manu TS, Amoj Jacob, D Chaudhary, and Rajesh Ramesh were members of the 4x400m relay team that won gold with a time of 3:01.43 seconds, improving their global ranking.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) fielded two teams in the mixed 4x100m relay, and members of both teams performed exceptionally well, chief athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair said.
The national mixed 4x100m relay team won gold with a time of 42.30 seconds, breaking the national record of 43.44 seconds set by Tamil Nadu in 2025.
India A finished second with a time of 42.34 seconds. Maldives finished third with a time of 44.53 seconds.
However, India's international sprinter and national record holder, Animesh Kujur, was disappointed at missing a golden opportunity to qualify for the flight to Botswana.
“The competition in Chandigarh was the last chance for the 4x100m relay squad to improve their world ranking before the April 5 deadline, but we missed it,” Kujur, a member of the national 4x100m relay team, added.
The national mixed 4x400m relay and women's 4x100m relay teams are also strong contenders to win tickets to the World Athletics Relays, to be held on May 2 and 3 in Gaborone, Botswana.
The national women's 4x100m relay clocked 43.86 seconds at the 2025 Gumi Asian Athletics Championships, achieving a current world ranking of 23.
The national 4x400m mixed relay currently has a world ranking of 22, based on the 3:14.81 performance at the World Relays in China.
"The World Athletics will announce the final rankings of the nations eligible to compete in Botswana after April 5, 2026," the chief athletics coach added.