In a stunning performance on Sunday at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the Indian men’s 4x400m relay team broke the Asian record and advanced to the finals for the first time in history.
After placing second to the USA (2:58:47) in heat number one, the Indian team of Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, and Rajesh Ramesh ran a time of 2 minutes, 59.05 seconds, to advance to its first World Championships final round.
Japan held the previous Asian mark, which was set in 2021, and it was 2:59.51.The top three finishers in each of the two heats, together with the next two quickest finishers, are required to advance to the final. Between the two heats, India’s timing was the second-best overall.
Ramesh, who raced the anchor leg on Sunday, was the fastest of the four. Before making a comeback in the Federation Cup at Ranchi in May of this year, the athlete nearly gave up on the sport in 2018.