3 min readMay 2, 2026 09:28 PM IST
Indian sprinters and quarter milers had a disappointing outing at the World Athletics Relays as all five quartets fail to move beyond their heats and secure World Championships 2027 berths on Saturday.
While the Indian teams will have another shot at the World Championships qualification, the results were disappointing from the Indian perspective.
The men’s 4x400m team came closest by clocking season best timing of 3:00.32 and finishing 12th overall. The quartet of Dharmveer Choudhary, Rajesh, Ramesh, Vishal TK, and Manu TS led the race in the second and third leg but failed to close it out. Rajesh and national record holder Vishal ran their heart out in the second and third legs respectively. However, Manu’s inexperience was visible in the final leg as he got boxed in the inside lane and crossed the finish line at the fourth place.
The top two teams in each of the three heats and the next two quickest advance to the finals on day two, while also securing their qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships. The remaining teams get another chance for 2027 Beijing World Championships qualification on Day 2 in an additional round where the top two teams in each of the two heats will make the cut.
India’s day started on a disappointing not as the quartet of S Tamilarasu, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur, and SS Sneha took the field in the mixed 4x100m heats but couldn’t finish the race (DNF) as the baton slipped out of Kujur’s hands in the third.
Indian mixed 4x100m relay team dropped the baton, will have 2nd chance tomorrow to qualify for Worlds 2027
Top 2 team advance to final today in each of the heats#indianathletics #relay#indianathletes pic.twitter.com/guZufiB0f0— SportsBackstory (@Sportsbackstory) May 2, 2026
In the third heat of the mixed 4x100m relay, Jamaica team consisting of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson, and Tia Clayton broke the world record. The quartet ran a timing of 39.99 seconds to break the existing record of 40.07 seconds which was set by the Canadian team minutes before in the first heat. A relatively new event, mixed 4x100m made its global debut at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China.
Then, the mixed 4x400m team of Theerthesh P Shetty, Ansa Babu, Amoj Jacob and Rashdeep Kaur finished sixth in heat number one with a time of 3 minute and 16 seconds. The women’s 4x100m team of Tamanna, Nithya Gandhe, Sudeshna Shivankar and Sneha SS did a little better, finishing fifth in heat number one with a time of 43.97 seconds.
In the men’s 4x100m event, the Indian team of Harsh Santosh Raut, Ragul Kumar, Animesh Kujur, and Gurindervir Singh clocked a season best of 39.07 seconds but finished at the last spot in heat number three.
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