Indian men’s 4x400m relay team breaks Asian record, qualifies for World Championships final for first time

New Delhi: The Indian quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh finished second in heat number one behind USA.

The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team produced a blistering performance on Sunday at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary to shatter Asian record and make the finals for the first time ever in history. The Indian quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh clocked 2 minute 59.05 seconds to qualify for its maiden final round of the World Championships after finishing second behind USA (2:58:47) in heat number one.

The previous Asian record of 2:59.51 belonged to Japan and was set in 2021.

As per the rules, the top three finishers in each of the two heats and the next two fastest qualify for the final. India’s timing was the second best overall across the two heats and the team will now compete against USA, Great Britain, Bostwana, Jamaica, France, Italy and Netherlands in the final on Sunday.

As per the rules, the top three finishers in each of the two heats and the next two fastest qualify for the final. India’s timing was the second best overall across the two heats. While they finished behind USA in the overall list, they were ahead of strong teams like Great Britain (3rd; 2:59.42) and Jamaica (5th; 2:59.82). The other teams to make the World Championships final are Bostwana, France, Italy and Netherlands.

Amoj’s father, who now has developed a keen interest in athletics, opined that the Indian relay team has finally arrived on the big stage. “We have a world-level team now. I am expecting them to run even better. Every runner performed well. After the CWG he has been really frustrated cause he could not bag even a single international medal. Even at the Asian Championships, he did not run that well. But today he must be happy. So are we,” said Amoj’s father as quoted by Indian Express.

The most impressive sprinter of the four was Ramesh, who ran the anchor leg on Sunday. The athlete had almost quit the sport in 2018 before making a comeback in the Federation Cup at Ranchi in May this year.

“He has great potential and I can tell you that he is among the handful who we expect to run below 45 seconds by the end of this year. He has a smooth-running technique that almost looks effortless. He also has a great presence of mind and has learnt the art of pacing his race. He has also benefited from training with the best athletes in the camp,” Ramesh’s coach Raj Mohana MK had said after his race in May.