Rupal Chaudhary confident of Indian women’s 4x400m relay team performing well at Paris Olympics 2024
World U20 400m bronze medalist Rupal Chaudhary, who was part of the Indian women’s 4x400m relay team that qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024, stated that she wasn’t happy with the timing in the qualifiers at the World Athletics Relays 2024 in the Bahamas.
However, she’s confident that the Indian women’s team will do well in the upcoming mega event in Paris. Notably, the Indian women's team comprising Rupal Chaudhary, MR Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi, and Subha Venkatesan, clocked 3:29.35 seconds to secure the second spot to make the cut for the Paris Olympics 2024.
“We are now focused on performing better in the Olympics. I am not happy with the timing and I think we can do much more better," Rupal Chaudhary told ANI.
“It feels very good to qualify for the Olympics” - Rupal Chaudhary
Furthermore, Rupal emphasized that this was the first time the Indian women’s team made it to the Summer Games without depending on the world rankings. Additionally, she stated that the team is proud of the performance at the Relays.
"It feels very good to qualify for the Olympics. This is the first chance where we have qualified otherwise this team would have started on the basis of ranking. We are really proud of our performance," Chaudhary told ANI.
Additionally, Rupal said that she was nervous as she usually runs in the third or fourth leg but in the Olympic Qualifiers, she started off with the opening leg. Moreover, she stressed the importance of following their coach’s suggestions and added that there would be less pressure since they made the cut for the Games.
"I was a little nervous at the beginning because I was starting the first leg. Before this, I used to run on the third, fourth, or second leg. We will continue to prepare as per the coach's suggestion. Now there is less tension because we have qualified. she went on to state.
After missing out on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the Indian women's 4x400m relay team will be back at the Summer Games for the ninth time since the 1984 Olympics.