Vishal Thennarasu Kayalvizhi

Vishal Thennarasu Kayalvizhi (born 17 December 2003) is an Indian sprinter who specialises in 400 m events. He has won gold medal in the mixed 4x400 m relay and silver medal in the 4x400 m relay at the 2025 Asian Championships.

Early life Vishal was born on 17 December 2003 in Jolarpettai, Tamil Nadu, India. His father, Thennarasu, was a football player who represented Tamil Nadu for several years and introduced him to sports from a young age. His mother is Kayalvizhi and he has a younger sister. At the age of 10, he left home and moved to Chennai to train at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. He studied at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology.

Career Vishal made his international debut at the 2025 World Relays in Guangzhou, in the men's and mixed 4×400 m relays. The men's team recorded a season's best of 3:03.92 and the mixed relay team clocked 3:14.81. At the 2025 Asian Championships in Gumi, he finished fourth in the 400 m with a time of 45.57. He played a key role in the relay teams, winning gold in the mixed 4×400 m relay with a timing of 3:18.12 and silver in the men's 4×400 m relay with a timing of 3:03.67. At the 2025 World University Games in Bochum, he was a member of the men's and mixed 4×400 m relay teams. The men's team finished fifth in the final with a time of 3:06.56, while the mixed relay team placed fourth in 3:18.40, narrowly missing out on a medal. At the inaugural 2025 Indian Open (World Athletics Bronze Level Continental Tour) in Bhubaneswar, he won the 400 m with a time of 45.72 and finished second in the 4x400 m relay. At the 2025 National Inter-State Championships in Chennai, he broke the 400 m national record with a time of 45.12.

At the 2026 World Relays in Gaborone, Vishal was a member of the men's 4×400 m relay team which clocked a season's best of 3:00.32 in the heats and recorded a DNF in the repechage round. At the 2026 National Federation Cup in Ranchi, he set the new 400 m national record clocking 44.98, becoming the first Indian man to run below 45 seconds. At the 2026 Commonwealth Games, in the 400 m he clocked 46.49 in the heats and 46.33 in the semifinal, and did not advance to the final. He also competed in the mixed 4×400 m relay, with the team finishing sixth in the final with a timing of 3:20.32.