Fit-again Rajesh Ramesh hopes to crack Worlds mark

CHENNAI: For the past couple of years, quarter-miler Rajesh Ramesh has had to deal with injuries which have prevented him from delivering his best. Last year, the 26-year-old had to pull out of the World Relays in the Bahamas and competed in the Paris Olympics with a groin injury.

Rajesh then focused on completing his rehabilitation and began training under coach Rajmohan at the NCoE Trivandrum in February. On Saturday, in his comeback competition, the Indian Grand Prix II in Thiruvananthapuram, Rajesh showed signs of getting back into his groove. The Tamil Nadu athlete finished first in men’s 400m with a time of 45.77 seconds.

With this performance, he became the first Indian to breach the 46-second mark this season. He ran the race without any discomfort, and it appeared that he had it in him to run even faster. “I am happy with my performance, but I have not completed my preparation for the season. Initially, I wanted to compete in the Federation Cup, but I was not confident as I thought that I could get injured again. I did not want to take a risk. I am injury free now and the aim is to break the national record and qualify for the World Championships (in individual),” Rajesh told TOI.

The ongoing 400m national camp is being held under head coach Jason Dawson of Jamaica. As only the national campers are allowed to compete in relays, Rajesh requested the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to train under Rajmohan and the federation accepted his request. He will be eligible to be part of the relay team in the upcoming competitions, where India men’s quartet will aim to qualify for the World Championships.

“I wanted to be part of the team for the Asian Championships but if I had suffered an injury, it would not have helped the team. I would have been mentally disturbed. The current team lacks experience, but we have a chance to qualify for the World Championships. The team will be competing in an invitation competition next month and I will be part of it,” Rajesh added.

After the Olympics, the men’s relay squad was revamped, and a new team competed in the World Relays in China. The quartet fell short of directly qualifying twice in Guangzhou earlier this month. Fourteen teams have already qualified, and two more spots are up for grabs via the world rankings, the only route available for India to make the cut. With the addition of Rajesh, the squad lacking experience will have a senior figure to turn to.