New Delhi: India’s men’s relay team quartermilers produced some performance in 2023, but since then they have been pulled down by off-field issues. From the high of finishing fifth at the World Championships in Budapest, the 4x400m men’s relay team is on the verge of missing the Tokyo Worlds this time.
The relay national camp has gone through turbulent times because of disagreements between foreign and Indian coaches, with athletes picking sides, leading to a messy environment.
All this came out in the open at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships when Jamaican coach Jason Dawson, who has been heading the Indian relay teams since 2023, slammed Indian coaches in the camp and even some athletes who were “interfering with his programme” and working against the interests of the team. Dawson spoke immediately after one of his trainees, Vishal TK, broke the six-year-old national 400m record with a 45.12s run.
“What Vishal brings to the table is something that I have always been asking all the athletes for — honesty and dedication. If you have that, then the possibility of you going worldwide and achieving is likely. But you can’t come and try to trick the coach and the programme,” Dawson said.
“Presently I don’t have an assistant coach, and I chose not to have one because I want people who are working with me and not against me. I am here to develop the Indian team. Don’t let your ego come in the way — that’s all I was asking.”
Dawson says the “biggest problem” he has encountered since coming to India is interference by Indian coaches.
“I will give my best and Vishal will continue to give his best if no one interferes. That has been the biggest problem since I came to India — the interference of other (Indian) coaches telling the athletes what to do, what not to do.
“There is a lot of ignorance because these athletes are used to their former coaches and have to give respect to their elders. Sometimes, the programme goes down.”
It was under Dawson that the men’s 4x400m relay team finished fifth at the World Championships in 2023, won gold at the Asian Games, and qualified for the Olympics. They also held the Asian record before Japan broke it at the Paris Olympics. That relay team had Muhammed Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, and Mijo Chacko Kurian.
After the Olympics, members of the relay team told the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) that they no longer wanted to train under the foreign coach, questioning his training methods. That took the federation by surprise. Some of them went on to train under deputy chief coach Raj Mohan, according to officials aware of the development.
The stand by the star quartermilers peeved AFI, which then decided to build a new team from scratch under Dawson. At the SAI NCOE centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Dawson has decided to work without any assistant, said an official. India’s best quarter-milers train at that centre. There are about 15 elite quartermilers training under Dawson. Jamaican Jerry Lee Holness has been roped by AFI this year to train the women quartermilers and hurdles team. SAI coach Raj Mohan has another group of athletes under him. All groups have seperate timings of training. A recovery expert is assisting him in the national relay camp.
The new men’s 4x400m relay team, comprising Dharamveer Choudhary, Jay Kumar, Mohit Kumar, TS Manu, Vishal, Rince Joseph, and Tushar Kanti, competed at the 2025 World Relays in China where the top 14 teams made the cut. India failed to seal their place in heats (3:03.92) and repechage (3:04.49).
The Continental Tour in Bhubaneshwar was an opportunity to qualify before the August 24 deadline. However the performance was not impressive. The Indian team finished behind Sri Lanka (3:08.22) with a timing of 3:08.37.
The timings this season are far cry from the national record achieved in Budapest (2:59.05). In the Road to Tokyo rankings, India’s best timing of 3:00.58 (at the Paris Olympics) puts the team in 19th place. Zambia is placed 16th (2:59.12) and occupies the last qualifying spot. India’s season’s best is 3:03.67, achieved at the Asian Championships in Gumi, where the young team won silver.
With the Asian Games scheduled next year, AFI will be hoping for the youngsters to step up, and for no fresh controversy to surround the team.
