India's 4x400m relay team sizzles to gold

Relay races are as much about harmony and kinship as they are about running efficiency. For Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh, the 4X400m relay race was a nod to history as much as the present, recalling the achievement of a bygone generation on a breezy evening in Hangzhou on Wednesday.

- SHANTANU SRIVASTAVA

Those who watched the quartet run a stunning 2 minutes, 59.05 seconds and then 2:59.92 on consecutive evenings at the Budapest World Championships in August to finish fifth with an Asian record expected them to do well in Hangzhou. But even the most optimistic would have their fingers crossed as the last time India won the 4X400m relay was in 1962 Jakarta Asian Games when Daljit Singh, Jagdish Singh, Makhan Singh and Milkha Singh clocked a then Games record 3:10.20.

On Wednesday, all it took was 3:01.58 for the Indians to blaze through a competitive field where three of the six starters ran their national record times while two did their season's best. The Asian record holders were almost a second behind their best time but still crossed the finish comfortably ahead. Qatar (3:02.05) and Sri Lanka (3:02.55) took silver and bronze.

India didn't particularly make a strong start with the experienced quartermiler Muhammed Anas coming fifth in the opening lap. What followed was stunning acceleration from Amoj Jacob handed the baton in the lead which Muhammed Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh never squandered.