“We are very happy both teams qualified for Paris Olympics 2024” - Jyothika expresses delight to be a part of India women’s 4x400m relay team
The quartet of Jyothika Sri Dandi, Rupal Chaudhary, M R Poovamma, and Subha Venkatan clocked a timing of 3:29.35 seconds in the recently concluded World Athletics Relays 2024 in the Bahamas to make the cut for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
Jyothika played an exceptional role in the second leg with her impressive timing of 51.36 seconds as India earned the ticket for the quadrennial event in Paris. She expressed her delight as both the Indian men’s and women’s teams qualified for the quadrennial event.
Moreover, she also thanked the government and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for sending the team one month before the Bahamas to adjust to the conditions.
"We are very happy both (Men's and Women's) teams qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024. I am very delighted to be a part of the team. With the support of the government, AFI took us to the Bahamas one month before to adapt to the conditions, which helped us to perform well on the world stage,” Jyothika told ANI.
After Jyothika, Prachi Choudhary also hailed SAI and AFI
Notably, the Indian men's 4x400m relay team comprising Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Muhammad Ajmal, Arokia Rajiv, and Amoj Jacob secured the second spot in their heat, clocking 3:03.23 seconds, behind the USA (2:59.95) at the Olympic Qualifying campaign in the Bahamas.
Prachi Choudhary, who was also part of the Indian contingent in the Bahamas but didn’t make it to the final quartet, also thanked SAI and AFI for helping the Indian athletes get into the groove.
"We have qualified for the Olympics, we are very happy. I want to thank the Govt, Sports Authority of India, and Athletics Federation of India for taking us to the Bahamas a month early to adapt to the situation since there is a time difference of 8-9 hours,” Prachi stated.
India women’s 4x400m relay team is all set to make a return to the Paris Olympics 2024 after missing out on the Tokyo Olympics 2024 for the ninth time since the first-ever Games in the 1984 Olympics.