00:00Four to lane eight, Thailand, Philippines, Bahrain, Vietnam, Japan.
00:18Issa Moussa in lane number six with a fast start.
00:21In the outside lane it is the Japanese Kentaro Shirahata who is also making his mark.
00:27But Issa Moussa, just look at him, how he's closing through after the first turn into the straight.
00:35Shirahata maintaining pace.
00:39And Issa Moussa is surely, once you go into the second turn and into the straight, he will be on
00:46par with Shirahata.
00:48What a wonderful start though by Kentaro Shirahata.
00:52It's been fascinating to see how the Japanese have gone through with this time.
00:57To change the first baton.
01:01The first baton will be passed on.
01:03The Japanese ahead.
01:05But for how long, that's the question.
01:10Bahrain will be eyeing to take the lead.
01:17Yeah, the second runners, of course, women.
01:20As is now the case that the order is given through.
01:23It is mandatory that it will be men, women, men, women.
01:26And now you can converge the lanes in the lead, Japan, through I-Terra Moto.
01:31After which you can see Aisha Abdullah just tracking her.
01:35Vietnam not too far behind in Beni, rather in Tinang Nguyen, whereas Thailand and Philippines find themselves in a spot
01:47of border.
01:48Now Aisha Abdullah seems to be taking over.
01:52There is the overtake.
01:56And Ala Sami will now run through.
02:03As the men try to make their mark.
02:06It is Kenki Imazumi that is posing a challenge.
02:10The Japanese has overtaken Sami.
02:13Well, this is something that was not expected, not in the script for the Bahrainians.
02:18Just look at how this Japanese is running.
02:20He's just taken the lead.
02:22It is outstanding the way he's strolled past the Bahrainian sprinter.
02:30But then again, you can see that it's a three-way tie right now.
02:36Which way is it going to go?
02:37You still have another baton to be passed.
02:41And there you go.
02:44The last of them.
02:46Absolutely.
02:47The last baton exchange to the women.
02:49Remember, this is a heat, so your timings matter.
02:52Of course, you want to finish in the top two.
02:54That's the first qualification criteria.
02:58And as in the case, Salwa Nasser now manages to take a lead in the ankle leg.
03:09She's a former world champion in her own right.
03:12Salwa Nasser, obviously one of the favorites.
03:15Chizu Hu Moriyama being overtaken there by the Vietnamese athlete on the outside lane.
03:21It was Thich Nhat Nguyen who decided to take the outside to overtake her compatriot.
03:27And it seems that it could be a Bahrain one, Vietnam two, and Japan three.
03:35Bahrain qualify for the finals along with Vietnam.
03:39Will await confirmation for Japan.
03:42You can see that eventually, the way the fourth ankle leg was run by Salwa.
03:50She was pretty relaxed in the last 20-30 meters.
03:53She knew that she had seen the finish line and she knew that her qualification is kind of secured.
03:583.15 is what they recorded.
04:03Just showing the dominance from the get-go.
04:06And surprisingly, Vietnam in number two.
04:09That was interesting.
04:14They made it easy work, the Bahrain athletes didn't want to put all their eggs in this basket given the
04:20fact that it's just a heat.
04:22They need to qualify for the finals, conserve your energy, and get cracking when it matters most.
04:29The Filipinos there, smiling, obviously a little disappointed with what transpired during the race.
04:42So Japan also has qualified.
04:44We're getting confirmation of that because the top three from each heat qualify and then it depends on the timings.
04:50It'll be fascinating to see whether Philippines and Thailand managed to make the mark
04:56because the top two fastest out of the rest of the field from the two heats will qualify for the
05:02finals
05:02because you want to occupy all eight lanes.
05:09Interesting that because the way the heat started, Moussa was well ahead of everyone.
05:15Then came Abdullah Aisha, as you can see.
05:18Had a fantastic run.
05:20But this was surprising for me.
05:23The third sprint where you saw Imaizumi from the inner lane and then the Vietnamese in lane three.
05:39Lane Nego.
05:42Just not the cleanest of baton exchanges for Bahrain, but look at the recovery by Salva Nasser.
05:49And going on the outside to overtake, taking the longer route and making it so comfortable.
05:54Eventually, as you also mentioned, Yash, took her foot off the gas
05:58and decided that she's going to be in cruise control.
06:00You know that she has plenty left in her tank to put out during the final.
06:13So these three countries have qualified by virtue of their positions.
06:16We'll have to await whether Philippines and Thailand qualify because of their timing too.
06:25Then it will be Jay Kumar and then Kiran.
06:43First up is Sri Lanka.
06:45And it's going to start off with Omel Jayathunlaag Galage.
06:52China has historically not done well when it comes to athletics.
06:56I'm pretty certain that's about to change.
06:58Hopefully it's not today.
07:01Given the way they've risen in every sport and every discipline,
07:05you wouldn't be surprised that they start making their mark on the track as well.
07:13Baotang Liang is the one starting off for them.
07:17For India, lane number five is our focus.
07:20Fifth and sixth, your fastest lanes.
07:24So Manu Saji is considered a favorite.
07:27The Indians are considered favorites.
07:28Along with South Korea with Minho Jang.
07:32Who's going to start the first leg for them.
07:38There you go. Confident is Liang.
07:43Along with Ying Ying Kong, Heng Zhao, and Yutong Zhang.
07:49Sri Lanka has Omel Jayathunlaagy.
07:54Then Mendes, Sadhu Senerath, and Jitna Mbitpe Bia.
08:02Wow.
08:06With all eyes on the Indians, four athletes, starting with Manu Saji.
08:13Like Atish mentioned, he's one of the favorites to dominate India.
08:18One of the favorites to qualify for the finals.
08:21Like we saw earlier, the top three from this heat will qualify automatically.
08:28And three from heat one, who've already qualified, will only leave two spots for qualification.
08:36And that will be determined by the time that you register in your respective heat send.
08:43You know, even if you're losing fourth, fifth, or maybe sixth, you try to cover as much distance as you
08:50can.
08:51Chinese are pumped up.
08:53Asian Games are dominated by countries like Japan and China.
09:00But remind you, India had silver the last time that they took field in 4x400 meters.
09:05Mixed relay.
09:33Of the blocks in lane number five is Manu Saji of India.
09:39South Korea.
09:39Sri Lanka, China, India, South Korea, Kazakhstan, and UAE.
09:43The competitors in this heat.
09:45You can see Manu Saji there in lane number five.
09:48As of right now, obviously, it's a staggered start, given that it's a 400 meter relay race.
09:53So you can't really figure out who's going to be in the lead till the lanes converge.
09:57For now, one can say that Suleiman Abdul Rahman has actually made a very fast start.
10:02At the end of the first turn, though, you can see the Republic of Korea athlete Minho Jang keeping a
10:08close watch on him.
10:09A little further away is Manu Saji.
10:12But the fact that he's overtaken the Kazakh athlete in Yesim Tarifov bodes well for the Indians.
10:19First bat in exchange, done and dusted.
10:23Puvama Raju, Mechatera, is who is next for India.
10:27Well, just look at her.
10:29She's already overtaken the Kazakh athlete and she is looking pretty solid.
10:34They will converge into the near lane.
10:37That'll help them make the track a little smaller.
10:41And that's only allowed in that second exchange, after the second one.
10:48Just look at the Chinese run.
10:50And Ateesh, you were pretty confident with that.
10:53But there goes Puvama.
10:55She's taken the outside lane and she's taking the lead here.
11:00This is masterful.
11:02This is what we wanted.
11:03She waited her time.
11:04She bided her time on the straight when the lanes converge.
11:07And at the turn, showcased her pace.
11:10India comfortable now.
11:11Smooth exchange.
11:14Jay Kumar has run away with it.
11:17China in second as we speak through Heng Zhao.
11:21But Jay Kumar is creating a distance and a half.
11:25And you would think that there is plenty left in the tank.
11:28Because you don't want to give everything away in these heats.
11:31The UAE athlete, in the form of Emmanuel Bamidele,
11:38is trying to pose a challenge to the Chinese Heng Zhao.
11:42Jay Kumar has slowed down a little bit now.
11:45As his legs tire up.
11:49But he's maintaining his lead.
11:50He is maintaining his lead.
11:54Just there.
11:55Just caught it in time.
11:56Time for the ankle leg.
11:57Time for the finish.
11:59And it is Kiran for India.
12:02Again, fast off the blocks.
12:04But that's the point, isn't it?
12:05When it comes to 400 meters,
12:06it's not only about being fast at the blocks.
12:08It's about maintaining that pace.
12:15The foundations were laid by the first two.
12:18Jay Kumar then eventually.
12:20Machatera was the one who actually
12:23changed the trajectory of the race for the Indians.
12:28Kiran is being hounded there
12:31by Mariam Kareem.
12:34But Kiran should make this.
12:36It should be comfortable.
12:37There is a late surge by the Chinese.
12:40Keep an eye out for her.
12:41She's taking the outside lane in Yutongjiang.
12:44She is overtaking Kiran.
12:46Yutongjiang might just win.
12:47Kiran might come second.
12:48India qualifies.
12:51India qualifies.
12:53And that's all that matters, Atish.
12:56India has qualified.
12:57In at number two.
12:59And like you said earlier,
13:00again, coming back to it,
13:01Chinese have shown some dominance in
13:04on the racetrack.
13:14And the vintage bike is song
13:17to Mr. Patap Seid.
13:19Now that's a great combination.
13:26Because once the lanes converged,
13:29she maintained her pace,
13:31was in third,
13:34and then taking that outside lane
13:37into the straight.
13:40Wonderfully done.
13:43Perhaps the most impressive runner
13:44out of all
13:45the athletes present today
13:47was
13:48Umama Raju
13:49with the way she
13:51overtook not one,
13:53but two
13:53with one particular move.
13:55and at that point
13:56we thought India
13:57would run away with it.
13:59One has to wonder
13:59whether Kiran just
14:00stopped short
14:02intentionally,
14:04conserving her energy.
14:14clean baton exchange,
14:16very important.
14:17You can't
14:18digress and go past
14:19a particular boundary.
14:21But right towards the end,
14:23you can see that late surge
14:26by Yutong Zhang
14:29to take top spot
14:30in this heat.
14:34But the good news is
14:35India qualifies
14:36for the finals.
14:38And
14:40they will be giving
14:41their all
14:42when they meet
14:44in the finals.
14:45The finals will be held
14:46tonight.
14:49Yeah, 6.45 p.m.
14:51India time.
14:53And the first day
14:54of athletics
14:56here in the
14:57Nagoya
14:58city,
14:59Mizuho Park.
15:08The sun's completely out.
15:09It's a clear day
15:10here in Nagoya.
15:13Final confirmation there.
15:15A big queue
15:15stuck next to India's name.
15:18Roughly half a second
15:19behind
15:19the People's Republic
15:21of China.
15:22Seems like South Korea
15:23is also qualified
15:23by virtue of having
15:24a fast time
15:25when it comes to this heat.
15:26So that means
15:27four from this heat
15:28and four from the
15:29previous heat
15:29have qualified.
15:40And that means
15:47we have confirmation
15:48that at 6.45 you'll see
15:50we have confirmation that at 6.45 you'll see.
15:50You know that at 6.11 you'll see
