Men’s 4x400m Relay Team wins Sportman of the Year (Track and Field) at Sportstar Aces Awards 2024

The Indian Men’s 4x400m Relay Team, comprising Muhammad Anas, Amoj Jacob, Mohammad Ajmal, and Rajesh Ramesh, won the Sportstar Aces Award for Sportsman of the Year (Track and Field) at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai on Thursday.

“Thank you, everyone. It is really cool to be here. Growing up, we’ve all read Sportstar, and to be awarded by them is a huge deal for us. We are in the august company of many elite athletes, and that is a great honour for us. We would like to thank AFI and SAI for their support. Keep us in your prayers so that we can bring laurels to our countries in the Olympic year,” Nihal Joel William said.

The quartet set a new Asian record of 2:59.05 in the semifinals of the World Athletic Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where it stunned Great Britain and Jamaica to finish second.

It clocked another sub-3-minute time in the final, where the team finished fifth—the best ever result for India in a track event at the Worlds.

The impressive showing at the World Championships was followed by a gold at the Asian Games — the first for India in the men’s 4x400m relay since 1962.

The event is presented by Amul, powered by IDFC First Bank in association with Indian Oil. The associate partners are LIC India, State Bank of India, Greyon Cosmetic, India Cements, United India Insurance, NTPC, Ramaiah University. The realty partner is Casagrand, with online grocery partner Big Basket, colour partner Nippon Paint and education partner Christ University. The co-sponsors are Pratiyogita Darpan, SSVM, PSG, Signpost, Digital OOH Partner, NDTV, Broadcast Partner, WordsWork, PR Partner and Dailyhunt, Online Streaming Partner.