The 4x400m female relay team of India has qualified for the forthcoming Beijing Olympics after clocking 3:28.29s in the second leg of Asian Grand Prix at Korat, Thailand on Thursday, June 26. India’s 4x400m female relay team comprises  Chitra K Soman, Raja M Pooyamma, Mandeep Kaur and S Geetha and they have now secured the country’s place among the top 16 teams that will compete  in this year’s Beijing Olympics to be held in August. The Indian team is trailed by that of China’s (3:29.75s) and Thailand’s (3:38.76s) on the second and third position respectively.

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Indian team had finished at the seventh spot. Ever since, the team has been clinching titles at various sporting events such as Asian Games 2006, Asian Championships 2007 and silver in the Commonwealth Games, 2006. When their timing slowed down in 2007, the performance of the team came under scrutiny. But this happened crucially due to the transition of runners from the junior to senior level. It was the surfacing of Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose coupled with the unwavering performance of Chitra Soman which brought back glory to the team in 2008.