Indian men 4x400m relay team breaks 18-year-old national record

New Delhi: The Indian men's 4x400m relay team clocked 3:02.17 sec at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup at Erzurum, Turkey to break 18-year-old national record on Sunday.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) released a statement today, confirming that the quartet, comprising of Asian Games Bronze medalist Arokiya Rajiv, Mohd. Anas, A Darun and Mohd Kunhu bettered the previous record of 3:02.62sec set at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

The men's relay team is currently placed No 17 in the world and the coaches are of the view that the team is capable of reaching the top-12 rankings with a couple of more races.

Meanwhile, the Indian women's 4x400m relay team, who are the reigning Asian Games champion and record-holder, clocked 3:30.16sec and jumped to world No. 12 in the rankings, to emerge as strong contenders for a qualification berth for the 2016 Olympic Games.

The Indian team management decided to field two teams each in both the relay events for more options.

The men's second team (B team) clocked 3:06.61sec while the women's second team (B team) finished with a timing of 3:34.45sec.

While the men's relay team is currently placed No.17, the coaches are of the view that the team is capable of reaching the top-12 rankings with a couple of more races.

As per the IAAF regulations, only the top-16 teams as per qualification norms and word rankings under a stipulated period, will be eligible for participation in the relay events at the Rio Olympic Games.