Chandigarh, March 28 (IANS) The Indian relay teams qualified for the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, this May with record-breaking efforts by India B in men’s 4×400 and in Mixed Team 4×100 relay competitions in the 1st International Invitational Relay / 3rd National Open Relay Competition 2026 in Chandigarh on Saturday.

The India B quartet clocked a stunning 42.30 seconds to win gold and shatter the previous 43.44s mark, while India A took silver at 42.34s—both securing spots at the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, this May.

The two squads featuring athletes like Gurindervir Singh and Tamilarasu produced seamless baton passes and explosive pace that had the crowd cheering heartily. The Indian teams faced competition from Nepal, the Maldives, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka in the 1st International Invitational Relay.

India A claimed senior mixed 4x400m gold over Sri Lanka in 3:18.90, with youth squads from Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh adding more victories in a meet that highlights the nation’s relay surge.

India’s 4x100m mixed relay team clocked 42.30s to set a new National Record at the National Open Relay 2026. The quartet of Lalu Prasad, Unnathi, Harita, and Jayaram came up with perfect baton exchanges, explosive speed, and a historic finish.

In the junior section, Tamil Nadu women dominate the U20 Women’s 4x100m relay, clocking 48.38, while Chandigarh clocked 45.44 to win the U20 4×100 Mixed Relay.

Competition in Botswana will be held in six relay events—4x100m (men and women), 4x400m (men and women), and mixed relay (4x100m and 4x400m), the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said in a statement on Friday.

As per World Athletics guidelines, the qualification period started from January 1, 2025, and will end on April 5, 2026. Teams within the top-24 World Rankings on the Road to Gaborone will be eligible to compete in Botswana.

The chief national athletics coach, Radhakrishnan Nair, had on Friday expressed confidence in a good show on Saturday, and the teams lived up to that. “We are hopeful other four national relay teams will be successful in achieving the target time to board the flight to Botswana,” Nair added.

–IANS

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