Amlan eyes relay gold at Asian Athletics

Time of India

25-05-2025

There were high hopes from Amlan Borgohain after the Assam sprinter broke the 200m national record in 2022 and followed it up by running 100m in 10.25 seconds. But he failed to keep up the good show in 2023 that also included sixth-place finish in the 200m final at Asian Games.
It was a tough pill to swallow but what happened a month later was something that would bruise him for life. Amlan's mother — his biggest supporter and inspiration — who was undergoing dialysis for some months, passed away. Then two months later in January 2024, he suffered an injury during a practice session that made things even worse.
But 2025 holds a lot of promise for the Assam sprinter not only because he has done well personally but he was also part of the 4x100m relay team that broke the national record during Indian Open Relay Competition in April with a time of 38.69 seconds.
The quartet of Borgohain, Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur and Manikanta Hoblidhar will now be hoping to repeat their feat during Asian Athletics Championships from May 27-31 in Gumi, Republic of Korea.
"We want to win gold there but it will be very tough because in order to do that we will have to pass around the baton perfectly," said the sprinter during an exclusive interaction with TOI.
It's actually not an unrealistic aim considering the South Korean men's team won the bronze in 4x100m relay during the Asian Games in 2023 with a timing of 38.74 seconds.
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But as athletics director with Reliance Foundation James Hillier also said, the team will have to perfect the art of passing the baton in order to finish on the podium and they have been practicing that under his watchful eyes during the training camp in Mumbai over the past few weeks.
While Hillier has been more than pleased with their performance, what he is happiest about is how Borgohain has made a comeback from his injury.
"The injury happened because he was running too fast too soon. He got himself into brilliant shape and just did one rep too many, and the body just wasn't quite ready for that level of intensity. So he hurt his hamstring," he said. "It was a bit unfortunate but he's over it now and he's healthy now. And he's definitely back in the zone."
Besides the injury, Hillier is well aware that the loss of his mother was also tough on Borgohain but as he said, he is finally able to get things 'straight'.
"It takes time. You don't have to rush the process. But I might have rushed it a bit since last year was the Olympic year and I was in the rankings," said Borgohain before adding, "So it took me a long time and I'm still processing it. But I think I almost got my things straight. My training and everything is going great. Now I have to figure out my competition part."
While time has played a big role, what have also helped are his teammates. As the sprinter said he and Hoblidhar are almost like brothers. And they trust each other and have their backs. And hopefully it's just what they will need come next week to finish on the podium.