Federation cup

Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi: On a pleasant evening in Budapest, Hungary, last Sunday, India created history as the quartet of Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh finished a credible fifth in the 4x400m relay race final at the World Athletics Championships, clocking 2:59.92 seconds.

It was the first time in the history of the championships that India made it to the final of the event, which was eventually won by the US (2:57:31), while France (2:58:45) and Great Britain (2:58:71) finished second and third, respectively.

A day before, the Indian quartet had set an Asian record by clocking 2:59.05 to finish second only behind the US and sprint into the final.