Indian men's 4x400 relay team smash 18-year old national record, on course for Rio 2016 qualification

Erzurum: The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team created a new national record, clocking 3:02.17 sec at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup in Erzurum on Sunday. They bettered the previous record of 3:02.62 s set at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok. [caption id=“attachment_2831404” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] 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 Rio Olympic Games. Earlier, 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 3:06.61 s while the women’s second team (B team) finished with a timing of 3:34.45s. 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.