Doha: The Indian 4x400m mixed relay team finished seventh in the final race of the World Championships with a season-best effort here. The team of Muhammed Anas, V.K. Vismaya, Jisna Mathew and Tom Nirmal Noah clocked 3 minute 15.77 seconds to finish seventh in the field of eight countries on Sunday.

It was just a tad slower than the 3:15.71 clocked by the Indian team while winning gold in the Asian Games last year. Anas began the race in lane number 8 and early in the second leg, Vismaya was running last. Third leg runner Jisna collided with a second leg runner of another country after collecting the baton from Vismaya, leading to the loss of crucial time though India was at the last spot by that time.

Noah recovered a bit but India ended at seventh in the end, ahead of Brazil. United States took the gold in world record timing of 3:09.34 in the event which was making debut in the championships. Jamaica (3:11.78) and Bahrain (3:11.82) secured the silver and bronze respectively.

The team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after reaching the finals in the World Championships on Saturday. The team clocked 3 minutes 16.14 seconds to finish third in heat number 2 and booked a berth in next year's Olympics.

The top three in each of the two heats and the next two fastest qualify for the final of the World Championships to be held on Sunday. India entered the final as one of the automatic qualifiers. The finalists (top eight) in relay races in the World Championships are automatic qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics.

Anas ran the first leg and after that Vismaya led the whole second leg, giving India the lead midway into the race. Third leg runner Jisna was overtaken by Japan and Poland. The baton exchange between Jisna and final leg runner Noah was not smooth and there was a loss of split seconds.

But in the end, Noah was able to finish third to take India to the World Championships final and Tokyo Olympics.

India finished seventh overall with United States on top of timings chart with 3:12.42. It will be tough for India to win a medal in the final, on Sunday, but an important objective of the contingent in this championships has been realised. There was an air of relief in the Indian camp.

"Yes, the team has reached the final in mixed 4x400m relay and by virtue of that it has also qualified for the Olympics," Athletics Federation of India's Planning Commission Chairman Lalit Bhanot told PTI.

The mixed 4x400m relay, which was making its debut at the showpiece event, has been one event where the Indian team had high hope. It suffered a jolt after world junior champion quarter-miler Hima Das was ruled out due to her back injury despite being named initially in the team.

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National record holder Anas was not fielded in the individual event despite breaching the qualifying mark so that he can focus in the relay.

Meanwhile, sprinter Dutee Chand's World Championships campaign ended in disappointment as she crashed out in the first round while 400m hurdler M.P. Jabir made an exit in the semifinals.

Chand clocked 11.48 seconds - one of her worst timings this season - in the women's 100m heats to finish seventh in her heat and 37th overall among 47 competitors.

Running in the outermost lane, Jabir finished fifth in men's 400m hurdles semifinals heat number three and 16th overall among 24 runners with a time of 49.71 seconds. The top two finishers in each of the three semifinal heats and the next two fastest runners qualify for the finals.

Reigning world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway led the runners into the finals with a timing of 48.28 seconds.

Jabir had qualified for the semifinals with a timing of 49.62 seconds on Friday but he could not improve upon it on Saturday. He has a personal best of 49.13 which he had clocked earlier this year. For the 23-year-old Chand, who ran in the innermost lane, it was another heartbreak as she had come in this championship with the hope of at least reaching the semifinals.

Chand's timing was in stark contrast with those of the likes of 2012 Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica and last edition silver medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast, who led the heat timings with 10.80 and 10.85 seconds respectively.

This showed how much the Indians are lagging behind as compared to the best in the world. Chand's heat was won by reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson (11.14 seconds) of Jamaica.

The timing of the last qualifier for the semifinals was 11.31 seconds and it was well within Chand's reach but she could not do it. The first three in each of the six heats and the next six fastest qualify for the semifinals. On the same tracks in April during the Asian Championships, the 23-year-old Chand had clocked 11.28 seconds during the heats and 11.26 seconds (national record) in the semifinals.

But on Saturday, she came up with her third worst time of the season, after the 11.51 seconds in February and 11.61 seconds in March during the heats in the Federation Cup. Chand had exited in the heats in the 2017 World Championships also, clocking 12.07 in the heats.

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