Animesh Kujur Shatters Records: A Rising Star in Indian Sprinting

An Impressive Performance in Wetzlar

Wetzlar: Animesh Kujur, who holds the national record for the 200m, has further solidified his reputation as one of India's elite sprinters. He clocked an impressive personal best of 10.14 seconds, securing second place in the men's 100m final at the PUMA Fast Arms Fast Legs 2026 meet on Saturday.

This remarkable time marks the fastest 100m ever achieved by an Indian athlete on international soil and ranks as the second-fastest overall, trailing only Gurindervir Singh's national record of 10.09 seconds. Earlier in the day, Animesh had already demonstrated his speed by winning his heat with a time of 10.19 seconds, improving his final time by a hundredth of a second from his previous best of 10.15 seconds.

As the current national record holder in the 200m, Animesh has established himself among the fastest 100m runners in Indian history. He now holds three of the five fastest 100m times recorded by an Indian, with the all-time rankings as follows: Gurindervir Singh (10.09s), Animesh Kujur (10.14s), Animesh Kujur (10.15s), Gurindervir Singh (10.17s), and Animesh Kujur (10.18s). His recent success in the shorter sprint comes after he qualified for the Asian Games 200m event at the Inter-State National Athletics Championships in June, where he finished in 20.74 seconds, well under the Athletics Federation of India's qualifying standard of 20.88 seconds.

Despite comfortably meeting the qualification criteria, Animesh expressed his dissatisfaction with his timing, emphasizing that his primary goal was to secure a spot in the Asian Games. "Honestly, I was not here for timing. The idea was to secure the qualification mark for the Asian Games. Now that I have achieved that, I will concentrate on improving before the Games," he stated post-race. His personal best in the 200m remains the national record of 20.32 seconds.

The Inter-State Championships followed India's bronze medal achievement in the mixed 4x100m relay at the Asian Relay Championships, where Animesh played a crucial role. His coach, Martin Owens, noted that the focus had been on securing qualification rather than chasing fast times due to a demanding travel schedule. Although Animesh has often stated that the 200m is his preferred event, he has made significant strides in the 100m over the past year. Since setting the national 200m record in May 2025, he has dipped below 20.50 seconds only once. In the 100m, he has previously broken the Indian record twice before Gurindervir Singh reclaimed it with a national-best of 10.09 seconds. His latest 10.14-second performance underscores his rising status as one of India's premier sprinting talents ahead of the Asian Games.