Know your Arjuna awardee: From a small Trichy village, Arokia Rajiv has blazed his way to glory

Every year, at least 15 athletes win the Arjuna Award but only a handful are household names. The Field is kicking off a new series – Know your Arjuna Awardee – where we will profile some of the lesser known athletes who have won India’s second most prestigious sporting honour.

Aspiring athletes in this country do not have it easy. When Arokia Rajiv, a leading Indian athlete in the 400-metre race, was a young boy, he began running without shoes and borrowed spikes from a friend when he had to compete at the state level. On August 28, the son of a lorry-driver from a small village outside Tiruchirappalli will proudly receive the prestigious Arjuna Award from the president of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi.

“I had never even thought of it,” the sprinter told The Field, clearly coming to terms with the scale of his achievement. “I never expected to win it now.”

Born to run

Interestingly enough, the 26-year-old has dreamed of taking part in the Olympics since he was just 13. In an interview he gave to Times of India in 2016, he had remarked that he had been motivated by a comment by an aunt who was watching the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and had remarked, “Indians are only good at eating”.

Beginning his athletic career in long jump, Rajiv switched to the 400-metre race on the advice of his coach Mohammad Kunhi who felt he possessed the pace and the strides for the event. To ensure that he could receive proper training, he joined the Army in 2010. It paid off with a surprise bronze medal in the 400-metre race at the Asian Games in 2014.

“I had applied for the Arjuna after I came third in the Asian Games in 2014,” revealed the athlete, calling it a “big award, a huge award”. He added, “But I am very happy to win it now. It’s difficult to express how happy I am.”

‘When you represent India, you give it your all’

This year, Rajiv won silver in the 400 metres at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, losing out on gold to good friend Muhammed Anas. He also set a season-best time of 46.13 seconds to win the men’s 400 metres at the G Kosanov memorial meet in Almaty in June. The 26-year-old, however, isn’t very happy with his performance this year.

“Performance has been down this year,” he said, forthrightly. “I am still trying my best but at times, I get a little nervous”. Then, he grins, saying, “But ultimately, when you go up to the track, you are reminded you are representing India. And you have to give it your all”.

Though Rajiv will be receiving one of Indian sport’s prestigious honours, he is continuously thinking about how to improve further. India’s performance at the Rio Olympics plays on his mind. He was part of India’s 4x400 metre relay team which got disqualified in the heats.

It was an eye-opening experience for the 26-year-old and showed him the importance of preparation. “We have the facilities here in India to at least qualify for the final,” he said. “But what we need is preparation for at least two years before an Olympics. Right now, we only start preparing six months prior to it. It can’t just work that way.”

The most important thing for India to excel at these events is to have a plan, he said. When that happens is anybody’s guess. Till then, he will soak in the joy of winning an Arjuna award.

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