"India witnessing a boom in athletics": Coach of World Athletics C'hips finalist Amoj Jacob
Aug 27, 2023
New Delhi [India], August 27 : Arvind Kapoor, the coach of Amoj Jacob, one of the players taking part in the final of the men's 4x400 m relay at the World Athletics Championships and his father Jacob expressed happiness at Amoj's qualification to the final.
Indian men’s 4x400m relay team qualified for the final with a new Asian record at the ongoing World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.
"I am very proud that one of my students broke the record and qualified for the World Championships Final. He also broke the barrier of three minutes. The Indian team will surely win in the finals," said Amoj to ANI.
He also said a boom is being witnessed in Indian athletics.
"When PT Usha came fourth in Los Angeles (1984 Olympics), the 400 m race started to pick up in India. Then, Paramjeet Singh made a record (breaking the record of Milkha Singh in 1998 which had stood for 38 years), more people started to take part in the 400 m race. When the CWG Games took place in India (back in 2010) and a movie on Milkha Singh was made (in 2013), more participation happened in athletics. Now after this race, I hope more people will take up the sport because India is performing great at world stages. A lot of credit goes to the Athletics Federation of India and their coaches too" he said. 
On the other hand, father Jacob said, "I am happy today...I said to my son that you have to make your country proud and win a medal for it. I cannot express my happiness. We have not talked much because he must be tired and he should be relaxed. We are praying for his team's win."
The Indian team comprising Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh clocked 2:59:05 to finish second overall in the heats at Budapest.
The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team clocked a new Asian record and progressed to the final on Saturday.
They broke the Asian record of 2:59.51, set by Japan at the world championships in Oregon last year.
The Indian team finished behind the USA in a nine-team heat 1. The USA clocked a time of 2:58.47 and finished first while Great Britain finished third with 2:59.42 to take the final qualifying spot in heat 1. The first three finishers from each of the two heats and two other teams with the fastest times made the cut for the final.
Indian men’s timing also shattered the national record of 3:00.25, set by Muhammed Anas, Noah Nirmal Tom, Arokia Rajiv and Amoj Jacob at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In the race, India was sixth after the first leg run by Muhammed Anas but Amoj Jacob’s stunning dash in the second leg put India in second place. Muhammed Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh did well to hold onto the pace in the final two legs to see India through to the final.
The Indian team was also the second-fastest team across both heats. The final is scheduled on Sunday - the last day of the global athletics meet.
