The Indian mixed 4x400m relay team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after reaching the finals in the World Championships in Doha on Saturday. The team finished third in the second heat of the semifinals.
The Indian team comprising Muhammed Anas, V.K. Vismaya, Jisna Mathew and Tom Nirmal Noah finished behind Poland and Brazil, clocking 3 minutes 16.14 seconds to book a berth in the 2020 Olympics. India finished seventh across the heats and also improved on their previous season best of 3:16.47.
An Olympics spot is given to the top eight performers in the relay races in the World Championships.
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Anas took the first lap and passed the baton to Vismaya who raced ahead of the others, maintaining the lead during most of the second lap. Jisna took the third lap, but a baton fumble while passing it to Tom nearly cost their chances before Tom edged in to give India a third place finish.
In the first heat, the United States finished on top with a world record time of 3 minutes 12.42 seconds, closely followed by Jamaica and Bahrain.
The final of the mixed relay in the World Championships will be held on Sunday.
Earlier, Dutee Chand crashed out in the first round of the 100m heats while M.P. Jabir exited in the semifinal stage of the 400m hurdles race.