Jamaican leads India’s 4x400 int’l charge

THERE’S A new power in the men’s 4x400-metre relay and a Jamaican is at the wheel.

Schooled at home, coach Jason Dawson directed India to fifth place in Budapest, Hungary, at the World Championships earlier this year.

In addition, the Budapest heats saw Muhammed Anas, P. A. Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, and Rajesh Ramesh destroy the Indian national record with a time of 2 minutes, 59.05 seconds. They placed fifth in the final, clocking 2:59.91.

It was the first World Championships 4x400 final for India.

“This is the first time they have really rubbed shoulders with teams like the USA,” said Dawson in reference to the heats where India ran neck and neck with the Americans almost all the way.

In addition to cranking up their training, Dawson appealed to their sense of patriotism.

“I would say to them that you leave India and you come here, you cannot return the same way. You need to put yourself together and bring pride and joy to that nation and show them that another sport can bring pride to the nation, and it’s not cricket,” said the former Racers and University of the West Indies coaching staff member, who has been in India since January.

Dawson got the best out of a quartet with modest 2023 bests of 45.35, 45.65, 45.67 and 45.91 seconds ,respectively, by placing them perfectly leg for leg.

“I realised that Anas was a first-leg runner. If I should put him elsewhere, then we’d definitely end up in trouble,” said the Jamaican.

“Jacob, the second-leg runner, he has vast experience on the second leg so it would only be best for me to put him there and not put him elsewhere and waste him. Now the third-leg runner, for the first time, had gone under 46 seconds, that is Mohammed Ajmal, and he has been doing well. I watched him training. I spoke to him, and he responded the way I would like,” the coach noted.

Anchorman Ramjesh was nervous.

“I will run if you say you have confidence in me,” he told Dawson.

“I said ‘yes, that is why I want you to bring it home,’ and he said, ‘coach I will do my best.’ I responded to him, ‘make your nation proud’.”

The foursome responded with splits of 45.0, 44.9, 44.3 and 45.0 seconds in the heats and finished one place behind fourth-place Jamaica in the final.

Dawson, whose elder brother Patrick has done sterling work at the Racers Track Club, has given his troops a new target: the removal of Anas’ Indian record of 45.24 seconds. Ajmal and Rajesh first went under 46 seconds in 2023 and the achievement made them want more.

“Then they realised that, ‘coach, we can go under 45.’ I said, ‘yes.’ They started to talk 44.”

As they seek that goal, India’s 4x400-relay team could become even more formidable by the time the Paris Olympics roll around next year.