It\u2019s no secret that India\u2019s men\u2019s 4x100m relay team has long trailed the country\u2019s more accomplished 4x400m squad at the continental and global level.<\/p>\n
Though the team has qualified for major events such as the Asian Games (it didn\u2019t compete in the 2018 and 2022 edition), Asian championships and World Relays qualification meets, it has consistently struggled with baton exchanges, lane infringement, consistency and depth.<\/p>\n
The latest setbacks have only reinforced those concerns. At the Asian athletics championships in May 2025, the Indian quartet was disqualified because of an exchange-zone violation. Ironically, just a month earlier, almost the same core group \u2014\u00a0Gurindervir\u00a0Singh,\u00a0Animesh\u00a0Kujur,\u00a0Manikanta\u00a0Hoblidhar\u00a0and\u00a0Amlan\u00a0Borgohain\u00a0\u2014 had clocked a National record of 38.69 seconds at the Indian Open relay competition in Chandigarh.<\/p>\n
The errors persisted at the World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, earlier this month. During the heats,\u00a0Ragul\u00a0Kumar, running the third leg, fell while attempting to pass the baton to\u00a0Gurindervir, resulting in another disqualification. Harsh\u00a0Santosh\u00a0Raut\u00a0and the more experienced\u00a0Animesh\u00a0had handled the opening two legs.<\/p>\n
Greater exposure<\/h4>\n
Despite the disappointing run, national head coach James Hillier, who oversees the men\u2019s 4x100m programme, remains optimistic. While taking responsibility for the poor results, he believes greater exposure, refinements and tweaks in training can help the team improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very high-pressure situation [at the World relays]. The team hadn\u2019t even travelled overseas much, let alone compete at the World Relays. The standard was so high, so it was inevitable they would feel the pressure,\u201d said Hillier, pointing to the team\u2019s inexperience as a major factor.<\/p>\n
He also felt the injury to\u00a0Tamilarasu\u00a0at the World Relays disrupted the combination. \u201cThat created an issue because once he got injured in the mixed relay, we had no choice other than to bring in Harsh, who had never run a relay before, and putting\u00a0Ragul\u00a0on the third leg was risky,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to the Asian Games, Hillier, who is also the Athletics Director of the Reliance Foundation, said the Indian squad would compete in relay meets in Saudi Arabia and Taiwan to gain exposure before the Games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very optimistic. We\u2019ll get all our guys fit and try to put the best possible team together for the Games,\u201d said the 48-year-old Briton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n