KOZHIKODE: Kerala quarter-miler Muhammed Anas has qualified for the Rio Olympics shattering the men’s 400-metre national record on the second day of Polish Athletics Championship in Bydgoszcz on Sunday. The 21-year-old athlete from Kollam, clocked 45.40 seconds, the Rio qualification cut-off, and became the 100th Indian athlete to be part of the Indian contingent.
He is the 21st Indian track and field athlete to qualify for the Rio Games, which is to be held from August 5 to 21. This is the second time Muhammed Anas is bettering national record in the span of two days. Earlier, in the heats of the meet, he had clocked 45.44 to break the earlier record set by Asian Games bronze medalist Arokia Rajiv.
However, Anas lost the Rio mark by 4/100 th of a second in his first attempt but made the cut in the finals. “It is a dream-come-true for me. I had not expected the timing, but after I was able to break the national record and come near the Rio qualification mark in the heats, I grew optimistic,” said Anas from Poland.
