India at Hangzhou Asian Games 2023: Know about men's 4x400 relay team

The team finished in fifth at the World Athletics Championships 2023.

Quartet Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh who represented the Indian men's 4x400m relay team garnered attention after they secured a fifth-place finish in the finals at the World Athletics Championships 2023 held in Budapest, Hungary. They clocked a impressive time of 2:59.92 to finish on a credible spot.

The Indian team achieved a remarkable feat the day before the final by breaking the Asian record in the qualifying round with a swift 2:59.05. The previous record, held by Japan, stood at 2:59.51 seconds. In addition to this achievement, they made history as the first Indian men's relay team to advance to a World Championship finals.

Fast forward, the same quartet bagged gold at the Asian Games 2023. Unlike the World Championships, the relay team did not have much competition as both the Japan and Bahrain teams opted to stay out of the competition. With this gold medal, Indian athletics contingent finished their campaign by bagging whopping 29 medals.

In this article, let us know about each one of the four athletes in detail.

Amoj Jacob

Hailing from Delhi and born in 1998, Jacob's expertise lies in the 400m and 800m events. In 2016, he demonstrated his talent by securing multiple medals at the Asian Junior Championships. Jacob played a pivotal role as a member of India's triumphant 4x400 meters relay team that secured the gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2017.

During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he represented India in the Men's 4x400m relay event and the Indian team achieved a remarkable feat by breaking both the Asian and National Records with a clocked time of 3:00.25.In 2021, Jacob continued to shine in his athletic career by securing the gold medal in the 400m event at the 2021 Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships.

Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi

Born in Palakkad, Kerala, in 1998, Ajmal's sporting journey initially began in football before he made the switch to track and field events. He commenced his track career with the 100m dash before transitioning to the 400m.

Muhammed Ajmal has showcased his talent by claiming victory at the National Athletics Championship on two separate occasions. His success continued with a gold medal at the Indian Grand Prix in 2022. Additionally, in 2021, he also secured a gold medal at the National Federation Cup.

Muhammed Anas Yahiya

Born in Nilamel, Kerala in 1994, Anas initially began his athletic career in long jump before transitioning to 400m running. He became the third Indian athlete to secure qualification for the 2016 Olympics in the 400m category. Yahiya is also the national record holder in 400m, which he set in 2019 with a remarkable time of 45.24 seconds.

During the 2018 Asian Games, Anas achieved significant success by securing two silver medals and one gold medal in various events. He earned silver in the individual 400m as well as in the men's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relays and clinched the gold in the mixed 4x400m relay.

Rajesh Ramesh

Rajesh worked as a ticket checker at the Trichy, Tamil Nadu railway station for nearly a year in 2020.Despite being the youngest among the four, born in Tamil Nadu in 1999, Ramesh has displayed remarkable resilience to overcame injuries and challenges posed by Covid-19.

Impressively, he even outperformed his teammate Muhammed Anas Yahiya by setting a faster time in the 400m event at the Federation Cup.