How India prayed and pushed its way to mixed 4x400m relay Asian Games silver

After a sluggish start from Manu and Poovamma left India sixth midway through the second leg, Vishal’s surging third leg pulled the team back into medal position. Vithya then delivered a strong anchor leg, overtaking Vietnam late to secure silver. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

As Vithya Ramaraj held out her hand to grab the aluminium relay baton for the final leg of the 4x400m mixed team relay at the Asian Games, her teammate MR Poovamma muttered a prayer. One that would eventually be answered.

India would go on to win silver in 3:14.46. But there was no way for Poovamma to know that at that moment. So she clasped her hands together.

It was a plea of the non-denominational kind.

“I was praying to all the Gods! Christian God, Hindu God, anyone. Whoever is listening. I was praying, God, we have to win a medal!” Poovamma, who had run the second leg, said later.

With one lap to go, prayers were indeed in order.

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India had won silver in the event in Hangzhou, but at that stage it wasn’t entirely sure that it would be able to defend it. India had entered the final as the fourth-fastest team from the morning heats and, for much of the race, the final seemed to be following the same script.

UAE had the lead. Bahrain was second. Vietnam was in third, just ahead of India. The podium was slipping away.

Vithya still has the women’s 400m hurdles and the women’s 4x400m relay to run. Neither will be easy. But she has a silver medal to take home. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

But then, almost out of nowhere, came an opening.

UAE had saved its youngest runner, 18-year-old Mariam Kareem, for the final leg. As she reached out for the baton from Emanuel Bademele, she missed it, struck his hand and watched in horror as the baton clattered to the track.

They were done.

Just like that, India had moved into third.

Vithya now had the baton secure in her right hand, with Vietnam’s Thi Ngoc Nguyen and Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser ahead of her. There was no catching the Bahraini athlete, whose season’s best of 49.27 was more than two seconds faster than Vithya’s best of 51.96. Nguyen, though, was within reach.

It was up to Vithya.

The 28-year-old knew it was coming. And she had been dreading it.

Vithya is primarily a 400m hurdles runner — the only athlete to have matched PT Usha’s national record in the event. But this was different. Here, she wasn’t running only for herself.

As the final-leg runner, she had watched the entire race unfold in front of her.

Manu Thenkalil Saji had made a solid start, handing the baton to Poovamma in second place. At 36, Poovamma was the oldest member of the team, but she struggled to get going and could only make up part of the gap she had conceded. India’s fastest quartermiler, KT Vishal, then had to fight to give Vithya a chance of bringing the team back into medal contention.

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And as she waited for the baton, Vithya felt nauseated.

“There was so much pressure on me. Everyone had done their best. Now I didn’t want to let anyone down. It’s such a horrible feeling,” she said.

Her heart had been pounding ever since the starter’s pistol went off. As Vishal thundered towards her, she could feel her heart nearly bursting.

She shut out the noise around her and focussed on what her longtime coach Nehpal Singh had told her, almost repeating his words in her mind like a mantra.

“Don’t run the first 100m under pressure. Just stay in touch in the second 100m. Keep a lookout in the third 100m,” she told herself.

She also knew Nehpal would be sitting in the crowd as she turned into the final straight.

When she saw him, she knew it was time to turn on the afterburners.

Ahead of her, Nguyen had the finish line in sight. But Vithya was steadily gaining ground.

She had expended almost everything she had, but with only a few dozen metres of track remaining, she willed herself forward.

“Just one more push, Vithya. One more push and you won’t have to do anything for the next month,” she thought.

She pushed again.

It was enough to bring India home with silver.

The month off won’t quite happen. Vithya still has the women’s 400m hurdles and the women’s 4x400m relay to run. Neither will be easy.