Mohammed Afsal Sets New National Record in Men's 800m at UAE Athletics Grand Prix

A Historic Achievement for Indian Athletics

Dubai [UAE], May 10: Indian runner Mohammed Afsal has shattered the national record for the men's 800 meters during the UAE Athletics Grand Prix 2025 held in Dubai.

Competing at the Dubai Police Club Stadium on Friday, the 29-year-old Afsal clocked an impressive time of 1:45.61, securing the second position among ten competitors, as reported by Olympics.com.

Kenya's Nicholas Kiplagat took first place with a time of 1:45.38, while South Africa's Christopher Swart finished third at 1:45.84.

Afsal's new record is 0.04 seconds quicker than the previous national record set by Jinson Johnson, who recorded a time of 1:45.65 at the 2018 National Inter-State Championships in Guwahati.

In addition to this achievement, Afsal is also a silver medalist from the Asian Games, having secured his medal in the 2022 edition in Hangzhou with a time of 1:48.43.

The world record for the men's 800 meters is held by Kenya's David Rudisha, who achieved a remarkable 1:40.91 during the 2012 London Olympics.

Furthermore, Animesh Kujur, who recently set a new national record in the men's 200 meters at the Federation Cup in Kochi with a time of 20.40 seconds, finished just 0.05 seconds behind to win the event in Dubai, establishing a new meet record. This performance marks the fastest time recorded by an Indian in the men's 200 meters on foreign soil.

In this event, Mahamat Goubaye Youssouf from Chad and UAE's Emmanuel Bamidele secured second and third places with times of 20.93 seconds and 20.97 seconds, respectively.

Kujur was also part of the victorious Indian team in the men's 4x100 meters relay, alongside Gurindervir Singh, Manikanta Hoblidar, and Amlan Borgohain, who finished with a time of 38.76 seconds. This same team had previously set a national record of 38.69 seconds at the National Open Relay Carnival in Chandigarh last month.

In the men's long jump, India's David Solomon achieved a top jump of 7.78 meters, surpassing his previous best by 0.67 meters. He was followed by Al Yerabi from Oman with 7.61 meters and Croatia's Marko Ceko at 7.60 meters.

In the women's long jump, Asian Championships silver medalist Shaili Singh secured second place with a jump of 6.44 meters, while Egypt's Esraa Owis took first with 6.67 meters. Ancy Sojan, another Asian Games 2022 silver medalist, finished third with a jump of 6.33 meters.

In the men's 100 meters, national record holder Gurindervir Singh finished eighth with a time of 10.41 seconds.

Mohamed Sinan claimed second place in the men's 400 meters with a time of 46.67 seconds, just behind UAE's Suleiman Abdirahman, who clocked 45.66 seconds.

In the women's triple jump, Sawant Poorva finished third with a jump of 13.09 meters.