GUANGZHOU: The Indian men's and mixed 4x400m teams missed out on direct qualification for the Tokyo World Championships later this year, finishing fifth in their respective heats on the first day of the World Athletics Relays on Saturday.
Both teams, however, will get another chance to make the cut for the World Championships (September 13-21) on the concluding day of the meet on Sunday.
The Indian mixed 4x400m quartet of Jay Kumar, Sneha Kolleri, Dharamveer Choudhary and Rupal Chaudhary clocked 3 minutes, 16.85 seconds to finish fifth in the seven-team heat number 3 on a rain-affected track.
Though it was the season's best for an Indian mixed 4x400m team, it was well below the national record of 3:12.87.
The top two finishers in each of the three heats, plus the two teams which have fastest times from among the remaining qualify for the World Championships and World Athletics Relays final to be held on Sunday.
Though they failed to qualify for the final, the Indians will have another chance on Sunday to make the cut for the Tokyo World Championships. The Indian quartet will be up against Botswana, Italy, Germany, Uganda and Canada in heat number 2.
The top three finishing teams in each of the two heats on Sunday qualify for the World Championships.
India fielded a fresh team in the men's 4x400m relay, having left out the athletes that competed in the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Olympics.
The quartet of Jay Kumar, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan, Thekkinalil Saji Manu, Thennarasu Kayalvizhi Vishal and Mohit Kumar clocked 3:03.92 to finish fifth among six teams in heat number 4.
The Indians ran the season's best time but well below the national record of 2:59.05.
They also will have another chance to make the cut for the Tokyo World Championships on Sunday.