Of Redemption And Dreams Coming True: Stories Of India's Olympics-Bound Relay Teams

Redemption, fulfilment of a father's dream, a big step in a nascent career and justification of choices made early in life -- Olympic qualification meant different things to the different members of the 4x400m Indian men's and women's relay teams who booked their Paris berths on Monday. Let's take a look on the eight runners -- four men and four women -- who finished second in their respective qualifying heats at the World Athletics Relay in Nassau, Bahamas to make the Olympic cut.

MR Poovamma: For Olympian Poovamma, it's a redemption of sorts after she faced the ignominy of a two-year ban for a doping offence in 2021 before getting a favourable decision after the intervention of Kerala High Court.

The 33-year-old, a multiple medallist in the individual 400m and 4x400m relay race in the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games, returned to action during the Goa National Games last year after serving a two-year ban.

"Finally, I can return to action now. The ordeal is over, though it left me mentally distressed," she had told PTI then.

The Arjuna Awardee is one of the most decorated athletes in the country, having won a women's 4x400m relay gold and 400m individual silver in the 2013 Asian Championships.

She went on to win a gold and a bronze in the women's 4x400m relay and 400m individual event. The Karanataka-born, who married another international athlete from Kerala, also won a gold each in the women's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay races in the 2018 Asian Games.

Rupal Chaudhary: She scripted history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals -- silver in women's 4x400m relay and bronze in the individual 400m -- at the World U20 Athletics Championship in 2022 in Colombia.

The 19-year-old hails from a family of modest