Doha: The Indian mixed 4x400m relay team qualified for the final at the World Athletics Championships by finishing third in the heat here on Saturday. The team comprising Mohammad Anas, V.K. Vismaya, Jisna Mathew and Noah Nirmal Tom clocked 3:16.14 to finish third behind Poland and Brazil.
They edged out Belgium by two hundredths of a second with the latter finishing with a time of 3:16.16. They also bettered their previous season best of 3:16.47.
Earlier in the day, ace sprinter Dutee Chand's campaign in the World Athletics Championships came to an end. Chand, who took part only in the 100m dash in Doha, finished seventh in the heat with a time of 11.48 seconds.
India's Jisna Mathew passes the baton to Noah Nirmal Tom during the mixed relay heat. The top three from the six heats and the next six best times overall make it to the semifinal that will be held on Sunday. Chand's timing puts her out of contention on both counts. It is also 0.22 seconds lesser than her best time, which is also the national record in the category.
In a heat that included Jamaican reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, Dutee had the fastest reaction time which led her to having a good start. She was ahead of the pack at the halfway stage but then fell behind in the final stretch.
Later, M.P. Jabir finished fifth in the semifinal of the 400m men's hurdles with a time of 49.71 seconds. He had managed a time of 49.62 in the heats on Friday which saw him qualify for the semifinals.
