"The target is to break the national record": MR Poovamma sets clear goals for Paris Olympics

MR Poovamma said that the Indian team will try to break the national record in the women’s 4x400 meters relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics, scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11.

The 33-year-old is part of the Indian team that qualified for the Olympics on Monday, May 6. The other members of the team are Subha Venkatesan, Jyothika Sri Dandi, and Rupal Chaudhary.

The team finished second in the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, and booked a berth to Paris. They finished with a timing of three minutes and 29.35 seconds behind Jamaica, who clocked three minutes and 38.54 seconds.

Back at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Rajwinder Kaur, KM Beenamol Manjit Kaur, and Chitra Soman made the national record after clocking a timing of 3:26.89. Poovamma sounded confident about the current bunch breaking the 20-year-old record.

“We wanted to better the timing but we could not do it. We will do it this season in the upcoming competitions,” Poovamma told PTI.

“This time, the target for the team in the Paris Olympics is to break the national record, reach the finals, and better the earlier best. The national record is 20 years old and we have to better it. This team can do it.”

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"We knew that we had a good chance" - MR Poovamma on qualifying for the Olympics

Apart from the women’s team, the men’s quartet of Muhamed Anas Yahiya, Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Ajmal, and Amoj Jacob also booked their flight to Paris.

“We knew that we had a good chance to qualify for the Olympics in men’s and women’s 4x400m relay. We were sure about it,” Poovamma added.

As far as Poovamma is concerned, she could not take part in the Tokyo Olympics due to her suspension due to a doping violation. Having made her return to the Goa National Games in 2023, the veteran is looking forward to making a statement in Paris.