GLASGOW: The Indian men's 4x200m freestyle relay team could not translate an encouraging qualification into a podium finish, ending sixth in the final at the Commonwealth Games swimming competition here on Sunday.
The quartet of Dhakshan Shashikumar, Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda, Aryan Nehra and Srihari Nataraj produced a much-improved performance, slashing nearly 10 seconds off their heat timing to clock 7:29.84.
However, they were unable to match the pace of the leading teams in a high-quality final.
Australia underlined their supremacy by storming to the gold medal in a Commonwealth Games record time of 7:01.47.
England claimed silver in 7:04.98, while Wales took bronze with 7:09.59.
India finished behind fifth-placed Malaysia (7:23.72).
The result highlighted the sizeable gap separating India from the sport's traditional powerhouses despite the relay team's encouraging progress.
Earlier in the day, the Indian quartet had qualified for the final after finishing third in Heat 2 with a time of 7:39.48, behind Australia (7:08.66) and England (7:18.13).
With Canada not starting, all four teams in the heat -- Australia, England, India and Jersey -- advanced to the eight-team final.
Australia led throughout the heat, while India were locked in an absorbing battle with Jersey for third.
Jersey held the advantage at the 350m mark before India briefly moved ahead, only to fall behind again at the 450m mark.
The Indians, however, finished strongly, reclaiming third place at the 700m mark and holding on through the closing stages to qualify comfortably.
Across the two heats, India advanced as the fifth-fastest team, with only Australia, Scotland, England and Wales posting quicker times before the final.