Good Sports: Relay Team Reaches World Championship Final
India’s 4x400- meter men’s relay team stunned everyone by finishing second in a qualifying heat at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, almost beating the United States.
The team of Muhammed Ana Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi, and Rajesh Ramesh finished the race in 2:59:05, about one-third of a second behind the U.S. (2:58:47). Not only did they become the first Indian men’s team to qualify for a World Championships final, but they also set an Asian record.
In the final, they finished in fifth place, falling behind the United States, Great Britain, France, and Jamaica, but showing that the stage was not too big for them.
“We wanted to give our best in the final too and our plan was to run under 3 minutes,” Ajmal told The Times of India. “We did that but it wasn’t enough to finish on the podium. However, we could prove that we weren’t there just to make up the numbers.”
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Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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