Surprisingly, two of the fastest Indian quartermilers -- Mohammed Ashfaq and Bhoomika Nehate -- were allegedly left out of the line-up in a last-minute change by 400m coach Nagesh Pillai.

India finished fourth in their qualification heat 1 at 3:22.85 seconds while the top three from each heat made the cut for the final.

The surprise inclusion in the line-up was Thiya Arumugam, who ran the anchor leg in 54.08 seconds. While Bhoomika was expected to run the race earlier after she proved her credentials with a 54.59 run earlier (without a flying start) in the season. Thiya, on the other hand, had a season best of 55.83.

However, sitting out Mohammed Ashfaq, who is formerly the U-20 national record holder at 46.05 (in Tumakuru in April), turned out to be the big difference as the Kerala runner helped India win three medals at the South Asian Athletics Championships.

Instead, the two male runners, Piyush Raj and Sayed Sabeer, failed to breach sub-47 while the other female runner Tahura Khatun (season best 53.93) clocked a poor 54.70 as India finished 11th in the heats overall.

DH has learnt that both Ashfaq and Bhoomika were set to run the race on the opening day as the Athletics Federation of India coaches traditionally pick the four fastest runners from the domestic season for the line-up in relay events. However, the duo was urged to sit out in order to preserve them for the final and later for the men's and women's relays in the five-day event.

Indian mixed 4x400m relay team has won two medals at the U-20 Worlds -- a bronze in 2021 and a silver in 2022 -- with Karnataka's Priya Mohan playing a crucial role in both the medals.

Meanwhile, the Day 1 action also saw javelin throwers Ashish Yadav and T Dharanidharan, along with women's discus thrower Amanat Kamboj, qualify for the final rounds.