800m runner Muhammed Afsal seeks to combine best of endurance with speed aiming for World’s qualification

Usually a shy person off the track, Afsal opens up about his national record, “I wanted to break the national record back in 2023, but injuries and some mistakes prevented it. But 2025 has started on a great note for me. Since I am getting a lot of good competitions, my timing is improving constantly,” Afsal told The Indian Express.

He was also happy that he broke the national record of the man who had taught him so many things. “Johnson bhaiya and I have been roommates since we used to train in Mumbai. I learnt so much from him. The most important thing was the mentality he has. He called me up and appreciated me when I first broke his national record,” said Afsal while brimming with pride.

Afsal first broke the previous national record of Jinson Johnson (1:45.65) when he clocked 1:45.61 at the UAE Grand Prix in May this year. He bettered it in July and broke the barrier of 1.45 by clocking 1:44.93. When asked what aspects he had worked on to go past the record, his coach Ajeet said, “Honestly, we haven’t changed much. He has been doing the same things for the past four years, and I think the consistency has finally paid off in terms of the results.”

Mix of speed and endurance

800m is one of the few middle-distance running events where speed holds as much weightage as endurance. “There are three types of runners in 800m – the one with speed, the one with endurance, and the one who has a mix of both. Afsal has both, and that is the reason he is improving now. Someone like Johnson used to rely on his endurance, but Afsal is equally good in speed,” his coach explained.

Keeping his strengths in mind, the training plan has been tailor-made for Afsal, who trains at the Reliance Center in Mumbai. “I like speed training more, but endurance is as important for an 800m runner. During my race against the Kenyans in Poland, I saw how important it is to have endurance,” Afsal said.”Nowadays, 800m has become like a sprint only with the races getting faster. If I get a field that is faster than me, my timing improves immediately.”

Apart from the endurance and the speed part, 800m is a heavily tactical race, and one can lose a sure shot medal also if there is a mistake in strategy. It is something that Afsal has suffered, and he learnt from it. In the 2023 Asian Games, Afsal was the best 800m runner when the heats finished, clocking 1:46.79, but in the final, despite leading for the majority of the race, Afsal won a silver medal. “The Asian Games final was one such race that taught me so much. I was the best runner in the heats, and in the final, I was leading till the last 100m. After that, the Saudi runner overtook me and went ahead. Now, I know what not to do when you are leading a race,” said Afsal.

Eyes on Worlds

While Afsal has done well in the season, the ultimate prize for him will be a direct World Championships qualification, and as per his coach, he was close to it. “When he was running in Poland and he broke the national record, I don’t think it was a perfect race for him. He started in the second lane and probably ran some extra distance while navigating through the traffic in the middle. Had it been a perfect race, he would have gone past the World Championships direct qualification mark of 1:44.50,” said Ajeet, about his ward taking wider curve to break past the group.

“This year I am getting good competitions, and if we continue to get good competitions every year, it won’t be a problem to qualify for the World Championships,” Afsal said.

There are two ways to qualify for the Worlds- either breach the direct qualification mark or qualify through rankings. While it looks tough for Afsal to qualify through rankings, he needs one good race to break the direct mark.

“This Continental tour event and the Inter-State will be crucial for me as these are two big chances for me to breach the direct mark of World Championships qualification,” Afsal concluded.