CHENNAI: Arokia Rajiv has seen better days than Tuesday. Sunday, September 28 2014, was pretty special. He announced himself as a top-level athlete with a stunning bronze in the 400m at the Asian Games. He holds another Sunday, July 10 2016, pretty close. The day he qualified for the Rio Olympics.
"That's always a bit special, qualifying for the Olympics or winning your first major continental medal but today (Tuesday) is not too shabby either. Being honoured by the government... that's some feeling." Rajiv is talking about being conferred with the Arjuna award – he, along with a host of other athletes, were recommended a couple of weeks ago but the Sports Ministry finalised the list of 17 on Tuesday.
Having won a number of medals on the international stage (his latest was silver at the Asian Athletics Championships at Bhubaneswar) since that breakthrough in Incheon in 2014, the award was very much in the pipeline. His response to whether he expected it this year, though, elicits a Kamal Hassan-like response. "I don't think I expected it. I just thought it would be amazing if I got it."
The 26-year-old knows he cannot afford to rest on his laurels, as there is a big year coming up. "At the Worlds in London, we made some mistakes and that cost us (the men's 4x400m team) a place in the final. Those are the sort of mistakes the team and I have to avoid because we have the Asian and Commonwealth Games coming up next year."
While he is not terribly happy with his own form – he says from a personal point of view, 2016 was rubbish in terms of results – he is happy with the way the 4x400 team has come up. "I think in 2014, were running around 3:05.00 and above. We are running close to 3:02.00 or below these days. If we can keep that sort of improvement, our team might have a good year in 2018."
He is also hopeful of striking it rich again in the 400m. "Nobody really knows for sure what will happen, no?" he asks. "The favourite for gold might not even qualify. All I can say is that I have confidence in my abilities. Rest is all up to God."
swaroop@newindianexpress.com