5 min readChennaiAug 22, 2025 12:51 AM IST
First published on: Aug 22, 2025 at 12:51 AM IST
At 10 minutes to 6 p.m, as Vishal TK lined up for the warm-ups, one could hear murmurs from the stands. Since May, he had already clocked four sub-46 seconds over the 400m. Three of those had come this month, including one in the semifinals on Wednesday. On Thursday evening, as he positioned on the blocks at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships, you could see he was going for the national record held by Kerala’s Muhammed Anas (45.21s) for six years. As Vishal got off the blocks and crossed the finished line, he endured a few anxious moments waiting to see the result. As the giant screen flashed ‘Vishal TK 45.12s’, the 23-year-old from Tamil Nadu let out a roar before taking a note out of his pocket that read, ‘For my coach Jason’ (Jamaican Jason Dawson) in direction of the cameras. He would then go on to embrace his father Thennarasu in a tight hug, before repeating it with Sabarish Kumar, his first coach.
When Vishal was in fourth standard, Thennarasu had taken him to Sabarish at Jolarpet Sports Foundation for he was knock kneed. “His legs were bent. Both his knees used to come to contact when he walked. I wanted him to walk straight. That was the primary motive to put him in athletics,” Thennarasu who runs a diary farm in Jolarpet, a north west TN town, tells The Indian Express. “In Jolarpet, you will mostly find long distance runners. That has been the norm all these years. Little did we know that Vishal would break the trend when we sent him to Chennai two years later,” says Sabarish now part of Tamil Nadu Police.
Since Vishal was in sixth standard, the Jawaharlal Stadium has been his home. Enrolled at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu sports hostel, this venue has seen his highs and lows. “In my mind, I was chasing personal best. If it meant national record or World Championship qualification mark, it was alright for me,” Vishal said shortly after the medal ceremony.
Jason and Vishal started working together since last November. (Express Photo by Venkata Krishna B)
To put things in perspective, just a year ago Vishal was competing in 100m and 200m before Seenivasan Ramaiah, who coaches at NCOE Thiruvananthapuram, made him switch to 400m. Months later, he was training under Jason, who already had a reputation for being a hard task master. What has since followed is a stunning upswing in not just results, but also in timing. In less than 12 months, Vishal has reduced his timing by a second, no mean achievement.
“It wasn’t easy to reduce one second inside 12 months. As Indians we have to believe it is not impossible. We shouldn’t think only in terms of Indian standard. We have to think to international standards and since I went and participated in overseas tournaments, I got good exposure. In India, we try to control the race. For example, we think if we push from the start, we would get tired soon. But I didn’t do it. I started and I just ran my race. If you look at European athletes, they don’t slow down or anything. Since I participated in 3-4 such events, I wanted to use that experience here,” Vishal said.
Jason and he started working together since last November. “Jason is a hard task-master. There was pain, there were sufferings, but you need it to succeed. In my first meet I came last (eighth) in my off-season. From there on, nobody has defeated me, I’ve been first, first, first. I completely trusted him. Indian coaches’ workload is relatively easy. But Jason doesn’t alter depending on your fitness. He believes only in results,” Vishal said.
“Vishal, he is a new athlete. Vishal brings to the table, something I have asked from the older athletes — honesty, dedication,” Jason says in his heavy Jamaican accent. “If you have that, then the possibility of you going worldwide and achieving is likely. But you can’t come and try to trick the coach and the program. Vishal is a special young man. He listens, and he learns quickly. He’s not afraid to work. And that is why you saw the result today that we saw,” Jason adds.
Though Vishal has had a sensational few months, where he has improved on his timing at almost every meet he features, Jason says technically he still has lot to learn. “Technically, he’s still learning. Visually, he’s just learning. It’s like a new student, who doesn’t even know how to do drills. The good thing is he’s eager to learn, he’s not afraid to work. The work is hard, but the thing is, he challenges me. And that is what I ask,” he says.
Jason says Vishal still has a long way to go in terms of maintaining consistency and improving the timing. “If you notice, he doesn’t even run like a 400-meter runner. He doesn’t know how to use his arms properly. Now he’s learning to use his hip flexor. Learning to use his arm. And he has to keep his shoulder in a square line when he’s running. You know, honestly, Vishal doesn’t even know how to use the blocks. I’ve made a promise that I would make him better and that’s what I’m doing,” Jason says.
As the giant screen flashed ‘Vishal TK 45.12s’, the 23-year-old from Tamil Nadu let out a roar before taking a note out of his pocket that read, ‘For my coach Jason’ (Jamaican Jason Dawson) in direction of the cameras. (Express Photo By Venkata Krishna B) 
Jason and Vishal started working together since last November. (Express Photo by Venkata Krishna B)
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