Indian Men's 4x400m Relay Quartet Confident Of Asian Games Gold

Amoj Jacob, one of the runners in the men's 4x400m relay quartet that came close to shattering the USA's aura of invincibility at the World Athletics Championships recently, said on Tuesday he was confident India would win the Asian Games gold, and would also aim for an Olympic podium finish if it qualifies. The 4x400m relay team smashed the Asian record in a stunning race, clocking 2 minute 59.05 seconds in the heat to qualify for its maiden final round of the Worlds in Budapest last week. The quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh finished second behind USA to make it to the final of the event before it finished fifth among six teams in the showdown.

Jacob, the second runner in the quartet, said that after shattering the Asian record of 2:59.51, "barring unforseen circumstances, we will win the Hangzhou Asian Games gold, and will also aim for a podium finish at the Olympic next year (if we qualify)".

Amoj added that the experience at the World Championships was a "huge morale booster ahead of the Asian Games as we have finished fifth in the Worlds".

"We will have less pressure in Hangzhou (Asian Games), and our effort will be to further improve the Asian record we set at the Worlds," said Jacob on the sidelines of a function to celebrate the National Sports Day at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29, the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand.

Asked what was going through his mind during the heat just before he took the baton from Anas, the runner said, "The focus is on the baton... that it should not fall, come what may, and my mind was occupied only by that thought. The job of the second runner is to get the team in a