New Delhi [India], September 2 (ANI): Indian athletics quartet of Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammad Ajmal Variathodi and Rajesh Ramesh, who all shattered the Asian Record within the semifinal warmth of 4X400m Men’s Relay on the 2023 World Athletics Championships, recalled how different groups praised them following their record-breaking efficiency.
The Indian sporting followers witnessed a historic second final week because the Indian quartet of Anas, Amoj, Muhammad Ajmal and Rajesh shattered the Asian Record within the semifinal warmth of 4X400m Men’s Relay on the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Completing the race in 2:59.05 seconds, India completed second solely behind the United States of America, and have become the primary Men’s Relay group to qualify for the ultimate on the World Athletics Championship.
They improved on the earlier mark of two:29.51 set by Japan in final 12 months’s World Championship in Eugene, USA. While India’s Men’s 4x400m Relay unit completed fifth within the ultimate, the star-making efficiency made headlines everywhere in the world and obtained widespread reward from all corners.
“The best compliment that we received was from a member of the Netherlands contingent. After we were walking back to our dressing room, he came running to us and said, ‘this is how you run with heart’. We also received praise from Jamaicans, the USA, Great Britain and a lot of other people who gave us positive remarks over our performance,” Amoj mentioned at a media briefing of the Indian Men’s Relay Team on Saturday.
But attaining historic outcomes reminiscent of that is by no means a simple feat. So much goes on behind the scenes within the lives of the athletes. The athletes opened up on the conversations that the group had with their coaches and the way a slight change in method improved their timing.
“Before the heats, the coaches told us to go into the mentality that we can achieve our target of finishing the race with a time of 2:58. So, we entered with the same mindset and treated the Heats as a final for us, where we wanted to achieve our targets,” Ajmal mentioned.
“The coaches gave us a great pep talk and motivated us. There was no pressure from their side which made us feel relaxed and we put in our best efforts and the results showed that,” Rajesh added.
Further breaking down their coaching routine, Anas opened up on how the group improved on their timing on baton trade with little tweaks in methods.
“We work really hard at training every day. We start early in the morning at 7 AM and we work out till 9 AM. After a bit of rest in the day, we return for training in the evening from 5 PM to 7 PM. As advised by our Coach Raj Mohan, we have made slight tweaks in our techniques during the exchange of batons. Those minor adjustments are really helping the team as we are able to switch a little quicker and as a team, we are feeling more confident,” he mentioned.
Injuries are additionally a component and parcel of an athlete’s life, and Amoj, who confronted a couple of accidents himself previously 12 months, expressed gratitude to JSW Sports and Inspire Institute of Sport for offering the athletes with correct medical care each time wanted.
Another issue that has helped the quartet is the shut friendship and camaraderie the 4 take pleasure in amongst themselves. Not solely do they continuously stay in contact and spend time collectively, in addition they exit to have enjoyable collectively if time permits. Playing cricket, and volleyball, and watching films collectively are a number of the actions Anas, Rajesh, Ajmal and Amad take pleasure in doing collectively.
“Rajesh made us watch the Tamil blockbuster Jailer in Budapest, and we all really enjoyed it. Rajinikanth Sir was amazing and it was a fun experience. Apart from watching movies, we also play cricket, volleyball, football, and our coaches join us as well. These games among us tend to become very competitive and we all engage in fun banter,” Amoj revealed.
Anas additional delved deeper into the connection along with his teammates and defined how having shut bonds with one another results in a spirited efficiency on the tracks.
“We talk after each training session, practice race, main race, about how it went, and we open up the tiniest of things to each other. If we have any concerns, we raise it immediately. Fixing mistakes can happen when you are friends with the people you are in the team with because there is trust between you. It is a great motivation that people around me completely understand me and we all are able to communicate effectively at all times,” mentioned Anas.
Now with the Asian Games in sight, and the Paris Olympics lower than a 12 months away, the Indian Men’s 4X400m Relay group are ready to construct on the momentum and scale new heights.
“Our performance at the World Championships is a big motivation for us heading into the Asian games. I feel if we can handle the pressure at the Worlds, we are good to take that kind of pressure even at the Olympics. We are eagerly awaiting the World Relays next year in Nassau in May, which will be a good chance for us to qualify for the Olympics. There is still time for us to improve even further till then and we are working on the same,” Rajesh mentioned.
“The fact that we achieved the result of 2 minutes 58 seconds in the Heats of the World Athletics Championships gives us more confidence that we will be able to achieve a good result at the Asian Games. We are motivated to earn a Gold at the Games and build on our momentum up to the Paris Olympics,” Ajmal signed off. (ANI)