Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh celebrate after finishing second in heat 1.
Credit: Reuters Photo
“You ran your hearts out. Well done," acknowledged one of the runners from the Netherlands' team to the Indians for their fifth place finish with a time of 2:59.92 in the 4x400m men's relay at the World Athletics Championships last week.
The quartet of Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, Muhammaed Anas Yahiya and Rajesh Ramesh entered the National Athletics Centre in Budapest as underdogs. But everything that ensued in the next couple of days not only shot them to fame back home but also helped the four men earn the respect of their fellow competitors.
"Members from the USA, Great Britain and Jamaican squads came up to congratulate and said they were proud of us. It felt special," Amoj told to DH during an online interaction organised by JSW Sports on Saturday.
The Indians created history by shattering the Asian record in the heats by clocking 2:59.05. It was also a race in which, for a brief moment, Rajesh overtook his American counterpart in the last leg, sending the crowd and commentators into a frenzy.
“We ran the heat like it was the final because we were determined to break the record. It was tough to recover after the heats. Rajesh was puking for almost an hour,” reminisced Anas.
“The physio did a great job and we were ready to do well in the final as well. But a few glitches hampered our momentum,” he added.
While Amol was forced to slow down with a competitor blocking his way, during his baton exchange, Ajmal had to jump over a Botswana runner who fell down in front of him.
“We would have definitely done way better if not for these blips. But nonetheless, the entire experience has boosted our confidence and we will train harder to perform well in the coming events,” said Rajesh.
With a few days to work on fine-tuning the technical aspects and enough time for some much-needed rest to their bodies, the team is gearing up for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Going from chasing the best, all of them agreed that being the favourites at the continental bash will be a different kind of pressure to deal with.
“Because expectations have soared we will be watched closely. While there will be critics when we don't perform up to the mark, there are so many who encourage and believe that we can reach greater heights,” expressed Ajmal.
With Japan being their main threat at the Asiad, repeating their feat at the World’s or touching 2:58 or below will be a task, they claimed.
“We are all sub 45 seconds runners individually which makes it great to be a part of this team. At the Asiad, Japan will be the team to beat as they have three 44 (seconds) runners. Anything can happen on that day. But we are confident and raring to go," said Amoj.