~Prakriti Prakash
Tokyo Olympics 2020 was full of surprises for Indian viewers. We won the highest number of medals ever. However, there were several athletes who despite not winning a medal, showcased wonderful performances. One such performance was witnessed in the 4×400 Men’s Relay Race. Although the quartet failed to qualify, it broke the Asian record in this respective category.
Meet The Team
The Indian quartet comprised Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Arokia Rajiv, Amoj Jacob and Noah Nirmal Tom. Together they produced a wonderful performance and finished fourth in Heat 2. Overall, they stood as the ninth-best team, missing the finals qualification by a whisker.
1. Muhammed Anas Yahiya
Yahiya is a national record holder in 400 meters and is considered the specialist of this category. He has attained podium finishes at the Asian Games and Asian Championships. In 2016, he became the third Indian athlete to qualify for the Olympics after Milkha Singh and K.M. Binu for 400 meters event.
Hailing from Karnataka, Muhammed Anas Yahiya is an Indian Navy Sailor (under trainee). He has been trained under the Navy coach T.G. Ajesh who himself used to be an international athlete.
2. Arokia Rajiv
An Indian sprinter and Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian army, Arokia Rajiv is the only other athlete who qualified for Rio Olympics 2016 after Muhammed Anas Yahiya.
He hails from Tamil Nadu. He is a recipient of the Arjuna Award for Athletics.
He has brought several laurels to India through his amazing performance at various events.
3. Amoj Jacob
The youngest in the quartet, Amoj Jacob is the Asian Championship Gold Medallist. His performance was best among his team in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Amoj specialises in two categories namely 400 metres and 800 metres. He looks up to Muhammed Anas Yahiya and considers the veteran his role model. He aims to break Yahiya’s national record in the 400 metres category.
4. Noah Nirmal Tom
Seargent Noah Nirmal Tom was born in the Kozhikode district of Kerala. He holds the rank of Non-Commissioned Officer in the Indian Air Force. He played an extremely significant role in the qualification of India for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. India was in the fifth position when Tom was handed the baton. But Noah did not lose hope and ran fast enough to secure India a berth at Tokyo.
PERFORMANCE AT TOKYO OLYMPICS 2020
The team ran their best race so far and completed it in 3 minutes 25 milliseconds. They broke the Asian record previously hed by Qatar clocked at 3 minutes 56 milliseconds. Out of the four members, three are associated with the Indian defence force which makes it a special team. Indian Armed Forces have been shaping top-notch athletes for a very long time. Neeraj Chopra, who won a gold medal this year in Javelin, is also a part of the Indian Army. However, this culture was fading away gradually. But after such amazing feats by our athletes, hopes are high that this culture will revive.
We sincerely hope that these athletes will keep performing as they did in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Team SKCF wishes them all the best for their future.
Must read – https://skchildrenfoundation.org/bajrang-punia-torchbearer-of-indian-wrestling/
