India started the 2021 Under-20 Athletics World Championships in Nairobi with a bang as they topped the first heat to reach the final of the 4x400m mixed team relay in the event opener on Wednesday.
The team of Abdul Razak Rasheed, Priya Mohan, Summy and Kapil clocked a time of 3:23.36 to finish ahead of Czech Republic, Jamaica and Poland in the first heat. This is the first time the mixed-gender event is being played at the event.
India’s time was the third-fastest overall from the two heats combined after Nigeria and Kenya, who ran in Heat 2. But the hosts were later deemed to have been disqualified.
With a time of 3:23.39 #TeamIndia wins it heat-1 in first position and qualified for the finals of 4*400m mixed relay event at #U20WorldChampionships in #Nairobi
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 18, 2021
Well done boys & girls, 🤞🏼medal pic.twitter.com/OGorN4uC06
Priya Mohan also reached the final of women’s 400m as one of the fastest non-direct qualifiers with a time of 53.79 while Summy finished her heat with a time of 55.43.
The mixed team final of the event will be later on Wednesday, at about 7.45 IST and India will be in with a real shot at a medal on the opening day.
In men’s shot put, India’s Amandeep Singh Dhaliwal was also through to the final in 11th place overall. His three attempts were 17.92m, 17.75m and 17.90m. He has a personal best of 19.15m.
Also Read – Athletics U-20 World Championships in Nairobi: Here’s the complete list of Indian athletes