Know Your Athletes: Who are part of India's 4x400m women's relay team at Paris Olympics 2024?

Indian women’s relay team has shown its magic multiple times.

With the Paris Olympics 2024 entering its final stages, the athletics events have begun. India has sent a 26-member contingent for various field and track events, led by reigning Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra. While India is still in its nascent stages of winning Olympic medals in athletics, Paris will witness high-octane competition in multiple events.

The Indian women’s 4x400m relay team is one such quartet that aims to make a mark on the world stage, having been champions for five consecutive times in the Asian Games. The past decade has seen the evolution of multiple athletes in this event. Paris will see four Indian women running at full throttle to give their best and secure a podium finish. Let’s meet the members of the women’s relay team:

Which athletes make Indian 4x400m women’s relay team at Paris Olympics 2024?

MR Poovamma

India’s nascent stage in winning Olympic medals in athletics is partly due to a lack of high-standard awareness of diet and medications. MR Poovamma is a prime example, having faced a two-year ban due to a doping offense. She fought a legal battle to overturn it, with the Kerala High Court intervening at a crucial time.

Despite being a three-time gold medalist in the Asian Games, Poovamma had to undergo this ordeal and made a comeback at the national games last year in Goa. Having been part of the relay team in the Rio Olympics, where they finished seventh in the heats, the 34-year-old veteran hopes to capitalize on her experience this time in Paris.

Subha Venkatesan

Born to a humble family of a construction worker and a homemaker from Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, Subha Venkatesan had limited facilities in her hometown. With the backing of her maternal grandfather, who worked in the police department, she pursued a career in athletics. She traveled to Chennai to train at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) facilities.

Subha, a bundle of talent, quickly rose through the ranks to represent India in the 2019 World Athletics Championships for the women’s relay team and in the Tokyo Olympics for the mixed relay team. The 24-year-old has achieved podium finishes in both events, with two silver medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. She aims to repeat this feat in Paris.

Also Read: Know Your Athletes: Who are part of India’s 4×400 men’s relay team at Paris Olympics 2024?

Vithya Ramraj

Subha will be joined by her friend from Tamil Nadu, Vithya Ramraj. Both were part of the women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay teams that won silver in the Asian Games last year. Hailing from Coimbatore, Vithya and her twin Nithya have been into sports from a young age. They started with hockey, and Vithya, a natural athlete, excelled in 100m and 200m sprint events.

It was her coach who discovered her talent in the 400m sprint and hurdles. At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, the 26-year-old equaled PT Usha’s record of 55.42s in the 400m hurdles, set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Vithya aims to surpass the legendary PT Usha by winning an Olympic medal in France.

Jyotika Sri Dandi

Jyotika Sri Dandi, the reigning National Champion in the 400m, will be the fourth runner of the team. Inspired by her father, Jyotika made waves during the U23 National Championships. She was part of the team that won Bronze in the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, prompting her inclusion in the Olympic squad.

She played a crucial role in securing qualification for the Paris Olympics, running the fastest leg of the quartet in the World Relays Championships held in the Bahamas in May this year. Her performance helped India book a ticket to Paris, and billions will be watching to see if she can repeat this feat at the Stade de France arena, where history could be made.

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