Athens: Curtains came down on India's campaign in the Olympic Games with the national women's 4x400 metre relay quartet ending up seventh in the final last night (Aug 28, 2004).

The foursome was distinctly handicapped by the absence of anchor runner and national women's one-lap record holder Manjit Kaur who had to be rushed to the hospital following a bout of fever and vomiting.

It was the 22-year-old Punjab runner, holder of the Indian mark of 51.05 seconds, who made it all possible for the country's 1600m relay team to enter the final from the semi-final heats with a blistering anchor run.

The scorching final leg that she ran helped the squad dip under the existing national record by 0.46 seconds.

The team was severely hit by Manjit's indisposition after the semi finals, an indication given by the time it clocked in the race for the title, 3 minutes and 28.51 seconds, as compared to their August 27 all-time best of 3:26.89.

The Indians certainly would have finished higher, if not in the medal bracket, had the Punjab runner been available to race as the foursome had in its ranks K M Beenamol, another fine one-lapper and the Indian record holder before Manjit.

In a way the relay quartet's eye-catching show reflected the undying spirit shown by and large by the nation's track athletes. There was also the national record-setting run of K M Binu (45.58 seconds) in the first round heats of the men's 400m.

He could not repeat his show in the semis, managing only 45.97, but in him there is hope for future as he is quite young and talented.