From Jolarpettai to sub‑45: Vishal TK runs into history

RANCHI: As Vishal TK crossed the finish line in 44.98s on Saturday evening during the second day of the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition here, his coach Jason Dawson could barely contain himself. “History! History!” he screamed as he ran onto the track after watching the 22-year-old become the first Indian man to run below 45 seconds in the 400m.Joining him in celebration was his father, Thennarasu. And hundreds of kilometres away in Tamil Nadu, Vishal’s mother Kayal Vizhi and sister Nakshatra sat in tears in front of their television screens, speaking to him on a video call moments after the race.“We are very, very proud. It was an emotional moment for all of us. Most of our family members were watching on TV, and many of us even cried. It’s hard to express what we felt in words,” said his father, with Nakshatra helping translate over the phone.The second day of the competition turned into an evening of firsts, national records and broken barriers as Gurindervir Singh, Vishal and Tejaswin Shankar delivered landmark performances within the span of an hour on Friday.Vishal’s record-breaking run fell just 0.02 seconds short of the qualifying marks for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games set by Athletics Federation of India (AFI). It was still a remarkable achievement considering he was running the 100m and 200m until just two years ago.Over the past two years, the athlete from Jolarpettai in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupattur district has emerged as one of the leading faces of Indian quarter-mile running, regularly competing at international events alongside Rajesh Ramesh and Amoj Jacob. But on Saturday evening, Vishal, supported by IIS, left the field behind as he raced to victory. The moment meant even more for his family, having witnessed his years of struggle.“He left home at the age of 10 to train at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. He stayed there on his own and would rarely come home. Most of the time, he was at the stadium, training,” his father recalled.“There were times when he had to travel to very remote places for competitions where even basic facilities like hotels were not available.”There were concerns during his childhood, too, as Vishal was physically very weak. “We were worried at that time and took extra care of him. But once he started training, there weren’t any major issues,” his father said.Nakshatra, who is two years younger to Vishal, always missed her brother growing up but knew he would not rest until he reaches the Olympics and wins a medal. This passion for sport perhaps would not have begun had it not been for his father, who played football and even represented Tamil Nadu for about five years.“Sport was always around him. He used to watch Usain Bolt a lot — videos, photos, everything. His friends would even call him ‘Vishal Bolt’,” said Nakshatra, who is currently pursuing a BTech in information technology.However, Vishal believes this is the start of something for Indian quarter-milers and expects more athletes to break the 45-second barrier soon. “We’ve had five athletes consistently running sub-46 this season, and that’s a great sign. I’m happy for all of them. Hopefully, next year running 44 will become more common, just like 45 is now,” he said. It is quite possible that Vishal himself could become the first Indian to dip into the 44-second range, with Dawson — whom he calls his “second dad” — continuing to guide him.