Muhammed Anas Yahiya

Some Lesser Known Facts About Muhammed Anas Yahiya

• Muhammed Anas Yahiya is an Indian Sprinter who specializes in 400-meter events. He is the third Indian male athlete to qualify for the 400-meter events in the Olympics after legendary Milkha Singh and KM Binu.

• Muhammed Anas Yahiya was born in a village in Kerala. It wasn’t a surprise for him to choose athletics as his father was also in the same sport.

  

• The first time Anas thought of opting for athletics as his career was when he saw Usain Bolt winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics 2008.

• He was recognised as the fastest runner in his village. Soon, he joined Style Sports Academy, Nilamel, where he was trained for long jump events due to his tall height.

• He emerged as the long jump champion in his school. While his school was looking for a last-minute replacement for a 400-meter competition, Anas got selected in his school team in a 400-meter race.

• From there on, he never looked back. Soon he began winning medals for the state and district teams. He won gold at the Junior national championships in 2012.

• In 2015, he won the 4x400m relay silver for Kerala at the national level. Soon, he joined the Indian Navy as a seaman on 7 May 2015.

• In 2016, at the 3rd Indian Grand Prix athletics event in Bangalore, the quartet of Kunhu Muhammed, Muhammed Anas, Ayyasamy Dharun, and Arokia Rajiv smashed the national record by completing the race at 3:00:09 timing.

• He again impressed everyone when he won the 400-meter silver in the senior national games in 2016 in his very first attempt. The timing of that race was less than 46 seconds.  This came as the decisive moment in his career.

• Next, he took part in the Polish Athletics Championships 2016 where he completed a 400-meter race in 45.44 seconds, setting a new record. Not only this, but he also qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics held in Brazil.

• He then reached the finals of the Rio Olympics where he broke his own record with 45.40 seconds effort.

• He met Usain Bolt in the 2016 Rio Olympics. In an interview, he Recalls the moment when he met Usain Bolt. He said,
  

  The motivation from the event was amazing. I could meet all those international athletes I adore, including Usain Bolt. The experience and confidence international competitions give are unparalleled. My whole attitude towards sports changed with that exposure.”

• In 2018, he won three silvers at the Asian Games in the individual 400 meters, men 4*400 meters, and mixed 400-meter relay. One of the silver medals came against Hasan Abdalelah of Qatar when he clocked 45.69-second speed in the 400-meter race.

  

• He performed well in the Men 400-meter semi-final of the Commonwealth games after finishing with the timing of 45.44 seconds and becoming the fourth-fastest among the qualifiers.

• Despite that performance, he missed the chance of clinching the bronze medal from Jamaica’s Javon Francis after finishing in fourth place in the finals. He became the second Indian after Milkha Singh in 1958 to reach the finals in the same event. He also broke the national record of 45.31 seconds in the 400-meter category from his previous best of 45.32 seconds.

  

• But his best was about to come. He broke his own record in the 400-meter race category in the same year when in the Czech Athletics Championships, Anas completed the race in 45.21 seconds.

• As the COVID pandemic hit the entire world, Anas was based in SAI centre, Patiala where he is gearing up for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 to be held in 2021.