Redemption, fulfillment of a father’s dream, a big step in a nascent career and justification for choices made early in life – Olympic qualification meant different things to the different members of the Indian men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams who booked their spots in Paris on Monday. . Let’s take a look at the eight runners – four men and four women – who finished second in their respective qualifying heats at the World Athletics Relay in Nassau, Bahamas, to reach the Olympic qualification.
THE WOMEN’S TEAM:
MR Poovamma: For Olympian Poovamma, it’s a redemption of sorts after she faced the ignominy of a two-year suspension for a doping offense in 2021 before getting a favorable ruling following the Kerala High Court’s intervention.
The 33-year-old, a multiple medalist in the 400m and 4x400m individual races at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games, returned to action during the Goa National Games last year after serving a two-year ban.
“Finally, I can get back into action now. The ordeal is over, although it left me mentally distressed,” she told PTI at the time.
The award-winning Arjuna is one of the country’s most decorated athletes, having won gold in the women’s 4x400m relay and individual silver in the 400m at the 2013 Asian Championships.
She won a gold and a bronze in the women’s 4x400m relay and the 400m individual event. The Karanataka native, who married another international athlete from Kerala, also won a gold medal in the women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay events at the 2018 Asian Games.
Rupal Chaudhary: She wrote history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals – silver in the women’s 4x400m relay and bronze in the individual 400m – at the 2022 World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Colombia.
The 19-year-old comes from a family of modest means. His father is a small farmer in Shahpur Jainpur village in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh.
As the closest stadium to her base – Meerut – does not have suitable synthetic tracks for training, she would have to travel two hours to Delhi for two days a week to train.
She became the second Indian to win a medal in the women’s 400m, after Hima Das’ historic gold in the 2018 edition of the championship in Finland.
Jyothika Dandi Sri: Jyothika from Hyderabad, who competed in the second round on Monday, took up sports to fulfill the dreams of her father, who wanted his daughter to participate in the Olympics.
The 23-year-old is very close to that, although the final selection of the relay team is in the hands of the Athletics Federation of India.
She was part of the Indian women’s 4x400m team that won bronze at the Asian Championships last year. She won a 400m gold at the Open National Championships and a silver at the Goa National Games last year.
Subha Venkatesan: The 24-year-old from Trichy in Tamil Nadu is the daughter of a construction worker and a housewife and took up sports at the insistence of her maternal grandfather, who works in the police.
Initially trained at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) Center in Chennai, Subha won medals at national competitions before becoming part of the women’s 4x400m relay team that won silver at the 2018 Asian Junior Championships.
THE MALE TEAM
Muhammed Anas: Anas, 29 years old, is the best-known male quarter mile in the country and national record holder. Already a two-time Olympian, Anas has won medals at the Asian Games, Asian Championships and in 2016 he became only the third Indian quarter mile (individual 400m) to participate in the Olympics, after KM Binu and Milkha Singh. He participated in the Indian men’s 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay at the Tokyo Olympics.
He was also part of the men’s 4x400m team that broke the Asian record at last year’s World Championships and won the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Anas was born in Nilamel village in Kerala and his father Yahiya was a state athlete. Anas has often stated that he became interested in running after seeing Jamaican legend Usain Bolt run around the track at the 2008 Olympics.
He was a long jump champion at his school, but switched to track following the coaches’ advice.
At the 2016 senior nationals, Anas won 400m silver on her first attempt and broke the 46-second barrier at that year’s Indian Grand Prix and Federation Cups for the first time.
Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi: Born in Palakkad, Kerala, Muhammed Ajmal was a football player like many young people from his state. He participated in state under-19 football tournaments until his coach recommended a switch to running. He was first a 100m sprinter and then began competing in the 400m.
Amoj Jacob: Born in Kerala but raised in New Delhi, Jacob’s sporting journey began during his time at St. Xavier’s School in Rohini when his coach suggested he try becoming a sprinter. The 25-year-old was initially interested in football. His mother is a nurse in a Delhi hospital.
He was part of the gold-winning team in the 4x400m relay at the 2017 Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, as well as winning gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games in the same event.
Arokia Rajiv: Hailing from a village near Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, athletics is in Arokia’s blood as her father Y Soundararajan was a state sprinter and long jumper. Arokia’s father, Soundararajan, was a bus driver, while her mother ran a daily wager.
The 32-year-old soldier was part of the team that won gold in the mixed 4x400m relay and settled for a silver medal in the men’s 4x400m relay at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta. He was part of the 4x400m relay team at the Tokyo Olympics that broke the then Asian record.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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