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CHENNAI: A few days after India’s 2018 Asian Games 4x400m mixed relay silver was upgraded to gold, Arokia Rajiv, who completes the relay quartet of Mohammed Anas, MR Poovamma and Hima Das, said the victory will motivate them at the Tokyo Olympics next year.
The Indian team has already qualified for the Olympics by finishing third in the second heat of the semi-finals at the Doha World Athletics Championships held in September last year.
“There was always a responsibility to perform well at Olympics. Now, as Asian Games champions we will face extra pressure. But we want to channelize it in a positive way and it should motivate us to give our best,” the Tamil Nadu athlete told TOI on Friday.
Interestingly, though, Arokia had missed the World Championships due to a toe and ligament injury he sustained in April last year. While he was on road to recovery and was preparing for the 4x400m men’s relay Olympics qualifiers at SAI Patiala, the Coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a halt. Arokia, like other Indian athletes, wasn’t able to continue his outdoor training for three months at the SAI centre.
However, an opportunity presented itself when the 29-year-old had to return to his home town Tiruchirappalli on June 27 due to personal reasons. While he sorted out his ‘family issues’, he could resume outdoor training because the district wasn’t affected severely by pandemic. He informs that it’s been two weeks that he has started practising at the Government High Secondary School ground in Lalgudi.
“It’s been a blessing in disguise for me. There aren’t many Covid-19 cases in Tiruchirappalli and I thought that I could use the opportunity to start training. So far, I have started with very basic training exercises. Gradually, I would progress. I have also started swimming in the Cauvery river which I couldn’t otherwise do anywhere else,” Arokia said.
The athlete said he has been in constant touch with the Indian team’s Polish coach Galina Bukharina. “We were planning to have a camp in Turkey and Poland but that has been put on the backburner for now. I informed the team that I have started practising here and Galina had charted a roadmap on what I need to do initially. I am taking it slow because there aren’t any international competitions scheduled before January next year,” Arokia asserted.
The Indian team has already qualified for the Olympics by finishing third in the second heat of the semi-finals at the Doha World Athletics Championships held in September last year.
“There was always a responsibility to perform well at Olympics. Now, as Asian Games champions we will face extra pressure. But we want to channelize it in a positive way and it should motivate us to give our best,” the Tamil Nadu athlete told TOI on Friday.
Interestingly, though, Arokia had missed the World Championships due to a toe and ligament injury he sustained in April last year. While he was on road to recovery and was preparing for the 4x400m men’s relay Olympics qualifiers at SAI Patiala, the Coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a halt. Arokia, like other Indian athletes, wasn’t able to continue his outdoor training for three months at the SAI centre.
However, an opportunity presented itself when the 29-year-old had to return to his home town Tiruchirappalli on June 27 due to personal reasons. While he sorted out his ‘family issues’, he could resume outdoor training because the district wasn’t affected severely by pandemic. He informs that it’s been two weeks that he has started practising at the Government High Secondary School ground in Lalgudi.
“It’s been a blessing in disguise for me. There aren’t many Covid-19 cases in Tiruchirappalli and I thought that I could use the opportunity to start training. So far, I have started with very basic training exercises. Gradually, I would progress. I have also started swimming in the Cauvery river which I couldn’t otherwise do anywhere else,” Arokia said.
The athlete said he has been in constant touch with the Indian team’s Polish coach Galina Bukharina. “We were planning to have a camp in Turkey and Poland but that has been put on the backburner for now. I informed the team that I have started practising here and Galina had charted a roadmap on what I need to do initially. I am taking it slow because there aren’t any international competitions scheduled before January next year,” Arokia asserted.
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