KOCHI: Immediately after Amoj Jacob got over the finish line ahead of Noah Nirmal Tom in the 400m race of the Indian Grand Prix-1 held at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, the quarter-miler collapsed to the ground in visible discomfort.
Immediately, the ice packs were out as he was seen nursing his ankle and assessing his physical condition after the run he just completed. After the heroics at the Tokyo Olympics where the Indian men's relay team re-wrote the Asian record, the likes of Amoj and Noah were returning to the track in what was their season opener.
As expected, it was a contest between Amoj and Noah in the 400m run with the Delhi athlete breaking away into the lead close to the halfway mark and never relinquishing it from there. Amoj had clocked the fastest time of 44.68s in that run at the Olympics which was crucial in India setting a time of 3:00.56s, even though it wasn't enough to qualify for the final.
Amoj said that he has been carrying a few niggles and the 23-year-old wanted to test his fitness levels at the IGP-1. "I just wanted to see where I am fitness-wise. I am recovering from a few niggles and injuries and I wanted to run to assess myself. Since I was running after a while, there was some discomfort, but it shouldn't be big a cause of concern," said Amoj.
He finished with a time of 45.98s at the IGP-1 and admitted that the target this season was to run faster.
"I want to improve my personal timings and that is always the big target because I know I can run faster. I want to use these meets to try and get back into shape, and by the time we head out for international meets, hopefully, I can put in some strong performances. The season has now started and it is all about maintaining the momentum," he said.
While Amoj and Noah ran in the 400m run. their Indian relay team teammate Muhammed Anas Yahiya did not compete in the IGP-1. Arokia Rajiv meanwhile chose to run in the 200m run where he finished third.
"Everyone is just slowly returning to action and taking their time with their returns. We'll see everyone slowly pick up pace. I only focused on trying to improve my timings. We have a big year with the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World Championships lined up. It's good to get the season underway," Amoj added.