Hima Das upgraded to gold in 4×400m mixed relay team 2018 Asian Games

This comes as great news for Indian athletics. The Indian 4x400 mixed relay quartet of Hima Das Mohammed Anas, MR Poovamma and Arokia Rajiv have been upgraded to gold medal position at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta,
while Anu Raghavan moved from fourth place to a bronze medal position in the women’s 400m hurdles.

The development comes after the Bahrain squad, which finished first in the 4x400 mixed relay final, was disqualified with Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain being handed a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for failing a dope test.

The 4x400m mixed relay team had finished in 3:15.71 after Hima Das was obstructed by Oluwakemi Adekoya, who was sprawling on the track after the second baton exchange. India now is the first winner of the event introduced in the Asian Games in 2018 in keeping with the international bid to find gender balance.

Anu Raghavan had clocked her fastest time of 2018, 56.77 seconds in finishing fourth in the hurdles final while her team-mate Jauna Murmu’s second-fastest (57.48) gave her the fifth place. Adekoya’s disqualification saw them move to higher places.
 
"AFI is delighted to see the World Athletics website ranking India’s 4x400m mixed relay squad as the winner of the Asian Games and Anu Raghavan as the bronze medal winner of the women’s 400m hurdles. The additional medal takes our tally to 20, including eight gold and nine silver. The news comes as a fillip to us as we are aiming to build on the Asian Games showing and make a mark at the global level in the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year,”

Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla said: “The 4 x 400m relay squad will be particularly pleased that it now has two gold and a silver from Jakarta. We are confident that under coach Galina Bukharina’s guidance, the relay squad will perform well.”

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