The Indian 4x400m men’s Relay team recently had a 2-minute 59.05 seconds run that helped them qualify for the finals of the World Championships for the first time in history. They also shattered the Asian record of 2:59.51s that was held by Japan. The Indian quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh ran the historic race to and secured the second spot in their heat behind USA (2:58.47).
Men’s team qualifies
What did I just watch?
India competing with USA and Trinidad in Mens Relay!! Wow!!
The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team clocked a new Asian record and progressed to the final at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest.
Go Champs!! pic.twitter.com/JGrjrzE9HX
— இந்தா வாயின்கோ – Take That (@indhavaainko) August 27, 2023
Rajesh Ramesh previously worked as a ticket collector at Trichy in 2018. He ran the anchor leg and almost overtook his American opponent. It has been noted that he almost quit sports entirely and worked as a ticket collector in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The Federation Cup at Ranchi in May this year marked his return to the sport.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Anas, the 400m national record holder, gave India a bright start as the rest of the runners maintained the momentum.
Amoj Jacob, who has dealt with injuries since the 2018 Commonwealth Games must be pretty happy with the performance as well. His family was praying that the race would go well.
Amoj’s mother Mary Kutty, the head nurse at the Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, was delighted with the performance. “What can I even say? It feels amazing to see my son do so well. He has a tough time. You should talk to his Dad, he speaks well,” Amoj’s mother said before passing the phone.
Amoj’s father quite eagerly follows athletes, and felt 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.
