With individual athletes making early exits in the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Osaka, the onus now lies with the women’s 4x400m relay team that will step onto the track tomorrow. Before leaving for Osaka, the team members had exuded confidence. “We will try our best to improve our time,” Manjeet Kaur, a key member of the national squad, had said.India’s best this season was 3:33.39 seconds. Going by the performance of the other teams in fray, India’s performance is the poorest of all. The squad really has to dig deep to make even the slightest dent.The entry list says there are 17 teams in fray. Heats I comprises Belarus, one of the strongcontenders for the title. The team had posted a fast time of 3:23.67 this season. Belarus are clubbed with Jamaica, another team which has a reputation of winning the title. India are clubbed with the US — fancied to win the title-in heats II. Britain and hosts Japan are also in the same group with India.
