1 week ago
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It’s nary concealed that India’s men’s 4x100m relay squad has agelong trailed the country’s much accomplished 4x400m squad astatine the continental and planetary level.
Though the squad has qualified for large events specified arsenic the Asian Games (it didn’t vie successful the 2018 and 2022 edition), Asian championships and World Relays qualification meets, it has consistently struggled with baton exchanges, lane infringement, consistency and depth.
The latest setbacks person lone reinforced those concerns. At the Asian athletics championships successful May 2025, the Indian quartet was disqualified due to the fact that of an exchange-zone violation. Ironically, conscionable a period earlier, astir the aforesaid halfway radical — Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain — had clocked a National grounds of 38.69 seconds astatine the Indian Open relay contention successful Chandigarh.
The errors persisted astatine the World Relays successful Gaborone, Botswana, earlier this month. During the heats, Ragul Kumar, moving the 3rd leg, fell portion attempting to walk the baton to Gurindervir, resulting successful different disqualification. Harsh Santosh Raut and the much experienced Animesh had handled the opening 2 legs.
Greater exposure
Despite the disappointing run, nationalist caput manager James Hillier, who oversees the men’s 4x100m programme, remains optimistic. While taking work for the mediocre results, helium believes greater exposure, refinements and tweaks successful grooming tin assistance the squad improve.
“It was a precise high-pressure concern [at the World relays]. The squad hadn’t adjacent travelled overseas much, fto unsocial vie astatine the World Relays. The modular was truthful high, truthful it was inevitable they would consciousness the pressure,” said Hillier, pointing to the team’s inexperience arsenic a large factor.
He besides felt the wounded to Tamilarasu at the World Relays disrupted the combination. “That created an contented due to the fact that erstwhile helium got injured successful the mixed relay, we had nary prime different than to bring successful Harsh, who had ne'er tally a relay before, and putting Ragul on the 3rd limb was risky,” helium explained.
Looking up to the Asian Games, Hillier, who is besides the Athletics Director of the Reliance Foundation, said the Indian squad would vie successful relay meets successful Saudi Arabia and Taiwan to summation vulnerability earlier the Games.
“I’m precise optimistic. We’ll get each our guys acceptable and effort to enactment the champion imaginable squad unneurotic for the Games,” said the 48-year-old Briton.
