Relay girls win gold, enhance Rio chances

The Indian 4x400m women’s relay team, led by Juana Murmu, Ashwini Akkunji, Anilda Thomas and M.R. Poovamma, clocked 3.31.39sec to win the gold medal in Samorin, Slovakia.

Only 16 countries are eligible to compete in the relay events of track and field at the Rio Olympics, and as a result of their performance in Slovakia on Saturday night, India have improved their 4x400m women quartet’s world ranking to the 15th position which is a step towards that goal.

As per IAAF regulations, the 2016 OG qualification standards has to be attained between the period, January 1, 2016 and July 11, 2016.

The Samorin performance is the Indian relay quartet’s second fastest timing and improves their average from two-fastest races to 3:30.24sec.

India’s fastest time in the allotted period came in an earlier event in the IAAF World Championships in Beijing in August, 2015 (3:29.08) through the quartet of Jisna Mathew, Tintu Luka, Debashree Maju-mdar and Poovamma.

The top-8 countries finishing in the 2015 World Relay Championships at Bahamas have earned automatic slots for Rio.