India’s Sprint Relay Team Eyes World-Class Performance with Precision Exchange Strategy

Nothing unsettles a track coach more than a baton exchange in a sprint relay. Even a slight misstep in the exchange zone can jeopardize a team’s chances, no matter how fast the athletes are. For Indian sprint coach James Hillier, however, the three 30-meter baton exchange zones on a 100m relay track are not obstacles but opportunities — potential launchpads for India’s sprint relay to reach the world’s elite.

Under Hillier’s guidance, the Indian men’s 4x100m relay team — consisting of Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar, and Amlan Borgohain — set a new national record at the National Relay Carnival in Chandigarh in April, clocking 38.69 seconds. This time places them among Asia’s top relay teams.

However, to progress further, Hillier and his athletes have little to gain in the short term — except how effectively they utilize the baton exchange zones.

“The most critical part of the relay is the speed at which the baton moves through the box. If someone isn’t brave coming into the box, the outgoing runner can’t push out hard enough. All our changeovers in Chandigarh were very safe — we played it safe because I wanted them to get the record, to make a statement,” said Hillier, Athletics Director at Reliance Foundation.

“What you want is to exchange the baton towards the end of the box. That’s the fastest method, because the outgoing runner has been accelerating longer and is moving faster.”

Pushing the limits of the exchange zone increases the risk of disqualification, but it’s a trade-off Hillier and his team are willing to make.

“We’re working on giving the runners the confidence to take the baton in the last 10 meters of the zone. That brings the time down significantly. As the chemistry builds and they improve, I want those exchanges to happen closer to the end of the box.”

Simple in theory, complex in execution. Four sprinters, running at full tilt, in a high-pressure environment. Hillier is under no illusions.

“Putting the baton in the hand isn’t the issue. The critical thing is timing the run-out. Most relay errors happen because athletes leave too early. They get excited. When you see someone coming in fast, it’s intimidating. You fear not getting out fast enough, so you end up going early.”

Hillier has adjusted the baton exchange, starting with the outgoing runners’ start position. The Indian team no longer uses the three-point start — a crouched stance with two feet and one hand on the track — because Hillier believes it impairs depth perception and causes miscued acceleration.

Another key change involves the mark, a tape placed in the exchange zone to cue the outgoing runner’s acceleration.

“I have asked them [outgoing runner] not to focus on the chest of the incoming runner, but on his feet. They have to imagine a small circle around that marking tape, and when the incoming runner’s foot lands in that circle, that’s when they have to set off,” explains Hillier.

Under Hillier, India’s sprinters have also made strides individually. Four of the six fastest 100m timings by Indian men belong to this quartet. Gurindervir set a new national record of 10.20 seconds in March.

Three of the four — Gurindervir, Manikanta, and Animesh — are under 25. Still, expecting any of them to break the 10-second barrier may be unrealistic, given how marginal gains become at the elite level.

Yet Hillier believes India can break the 38-second barrier even without a sub-10 runner.

“To estimate a relay time, you add the four individual 100m times and subtract between 2.1 and 3.0 seconds. A 2.4-second differential is good; 3.2 is exceptional. Right now, our team has a 2.4-second differential. In the 2010 national record (38.89), it was 2.81.”

“I had predicted 38.62 even with poor exchanges. So, the 38.69 they ran suggests the exchanges weren’t great. With excellent exchanges, they could run 37.82. If they matched the exchange efficiency of the 2010 team, they’d be at 38.2.”

Apart from striving to meet their coach’s standards, the Indian relay team is also chasing history. India’s last medal in the men’s 4x100m relay at the Asian Athletics Championships came in 1979. To find a medal at the Asian Games itself, you have to go even further back, to 1970.

That drought could end soon. The 38.69-second effort would have secured India a podium finish at every Asian Games and AAC over the past decade — and even a gold medal at three of the last seven AACs. Since 2024, only Japan, China, and South Korea have clocked faster relay times among Asian nations. Notably, Japan and China were Olympic finalists in Paris.

Still, Hillier (left) isn’t interested in burdening his athletes with expectations.

“Of course we want to win a medal. But we can’t go in expecting it. In athletics, the moment you start expecting, things often don’t go to plan. We need to make it happen.

“The key is to stay focused. We can’t let excitement get in the way. We have to get in and out of the exchange box at the right time.”

But at the global level, the gap is wider. Indian sprinters would need to trim nearly a second off their collective timing to contend for a medal at the World Championships or the Olympics.

Their next big target is the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, but the road is steep. India missed the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, which offered 14 of the 16 direct qualification spots for the Worlds. Jamaica, which missed out on qualifying in Guangzhou, is likely to claim one of the two remaining slots through the top season-best list. For India to claim the last spot, it must at least better the Netherlands’ season-best of 38.20 seconds.

For Hillier, even this ambitious goal feels within reach — because of the progress already made.

“It’s been a real challenge to get here — to convince people that Indian sprinters are good enough, that they can compete, and even win medals — not just in Asia but potentially at the world level. We’ve had to swim against the tide, against the idea that India doesn’t have the athletes for a sprint relay. That mindset is changing. And that’s crucial.”