Men’s 4×400 relay team coach Jason Dawson unhappy with interference from Indian coaches

Jason Dawson was hit with a flurry of emotions at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. Vishal TK, his ward and local favourite, had just broken Muhammed Anas’ six-year-old National Record of 45.21s in men’s 400m at the 64th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.

Dawson, the head coach of the men’s 4x400m relay national team which includes Vishal, was ecstatic after he clocked 45.12s and gave the 21-year-old a big hug. At the same time, the Jamaican was also a bit emotional and angry.

“What I will do is give my best as he (Vishal) continues to give his best if no one interferes. That’s one of the biggest problems I have faced since coming to India,” said Dawson.

Dawson, who is a hard taskmaster, has been a part of the Indian athletics ecosystem since replacing Russian-American coach Galina Bukharina in 2023. Under his guidance, the men’s 4x400m relay team achieved astonishing results – a fifth-place finish at the Budapest World Championships as well as the gold medal at the Asian Games.

“The interference of other Indian coaches – telling the athletes what to do, what not to do and why they should not do. There is a lot of ignorance because these athletes are used to their former coaches and have to give respect to their elders. They follow their advice. Sometimes, the programme goes down and it just seems like what is really happening in Thiruvananthapuram (the relay team trains together at the National Centre of Excellence in Thiruvananthapuram) is a question I have to ask,” he continued.

Dawson (R) with Vishal TK after he broke the men’s 400m National Record.
| Photo Credit:
Nihit Sachdeva

Dawson also gave credit to Vishal and his former coach R. Seenivasan for not falling into that category of athletes and coaches.

“He’s very tough-headed. He doesn’t let other people try to tell him what to do. When he was coming to train under me, I heard his former coach (R. Seenivasan), who is also from Tamil Nadu, say to him, ‘Listen to the coach and follow what the coach asks you to do’. So, I also want to give thanks to that coach for not interfering in my program”, he said.

Dawson also pointed out that he is training the athletes on his own. “Presently, I don’t have an assistant coach and I choose not to have an assistant coach because I want people who are working with me and not against me,” he said.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has rejigged the 4x400m men’s relay team after its failure to go past the heats at the Paris Olympics. The Olympic squad featured Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Mijo Chacko Kurian and Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan. The team which competed at this year’s Asian Championships also had Santhosh but the rest – Vishal, Jay Kumar, Manu TS, Dharamveer Chaudhary, Rince Joseph, Tushar Kanti, and Mohit Kumar – were all new.

“My mission has always been to bring the team as high as possible, as world beaters, nothing less. The Americans, the British, you name the team, must understand that an Indian 400m runner is not going out there to take up a lane. They are going out there to compete well. That is something I always want but most people always say it’s too much hard work,” he said.

“That is why I asked AFI to provide me with young and new athletes this season.”

Published on Aug 21, 2025