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Time of India
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
‘Need to compete with faster athletes'
Animesh Kujur Despite a successful outing at the National Games in Dehradun early this year, Animesh Kujur wasn't a happy man. That's because he wasn't just aiming for a win there, he was also eyeing records and better timings and had pushed himself day in and day out to make sure he could do that. Although he didn't succeed then, it's finally happening. First he broke the 200m national record during the final of the Asian Athletics Championships on May 31 when he ran a time of 20.32 seconds to grab a silver medal. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! On Saturday night at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting at Konstantinos Baglatzis Municipal Stadium in Vari, Greece, he shattered the 100m national record by crossing the finish line in 10.18 seconds. Animesh, who trains at the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre (HPC) at Kalinga Stadium, bettered Gurindervir Singh's timing of 10.20 seconds set during the Indian Grand Prix 1 at Netaji Subhas Southern Centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Bengaluru in March. He told TOI in an exclusive interview, 'I have to compete with faster athletes. In India, there aren't many competitors like that. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn How To Write Faster for Work (Find Out Now) Grammarly Learn More Undo But I have the scope of training abroad and running with athletes who have timings close to 10 seconds. That is how I will be able to measure where I stand.' With more events coming up, one expects him to run even faster in his quest to breach the 10-second barrier, which James Hiller, athletics director with Reliance Foundation, believes is quite possible. 'I get asked a lot, can an Indian break 10 seconds? And they can,' said Hiller. 'I think positive mindset will help the sprinters genuinely believe that they can be faster and they can run under 10 seconds.' For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Competing ‘with faster athletes', Animesh breaks 100m NR in Greece
Despite a successful outing at the National Games in Dehradun early this year, Animesh Kujur wasn't a happy man. That's because he wasn't just aiming for a win there, he was also eyeing records and better timings and had pushed himself day in and day out to make sure he could do that. Although he didn't succeed then, it's finally happening. First he broke the 200m national record during the final of the Asian Athletics Championships on May 31 when he ran a time of 20.32 seconds to grab a silver medal. And now on Saturday night at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting at Konstantinos Baglatzis Municipal Stadium in Vari, Greece, he shattered the 100m national record by crossing the finishing line in 10.18 seconds. Animesh, who trains at the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre (HPC) at Kalinga Stadium, bettered Gurindervir Singh's timing of 10.20 seconds set during the Indian Grand Prix 1 at Netaji Subhas Southern Centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Bengaluru in March. International competition, like the one where he shone on Saturday, is what he was talking about when he said in an exclusive interview to TOI, "I have to compete with faster athletes. In India, there aren't many competitors like that. But I have the scope of training abroad and running with athletes who have timings close to 10 seconds, and that way I will be able to gauge where I stand at the moment." As far as Saturday's race is concerned, he rushed out of the blocks in the blink of an eye and continued to lead. Running in lane 4, he kept improving his pace and, despite some challenge from Sotirios Gkaragkanis of Greece, he crossed the finish line in the first position quite easily — .09 seconds faster than his earlier PB of 10.27 seconds. Gkaragkanis had to settle for second place (10.23 sec) while Samuli Samuelsson finished third (10.28 sec). With more events coming up, one expects him to run even faster in his quest to someday breach the 10-second barrier, which James Hiller, athletics director with Reliance Foundation, believes is quite possible. "I get asked a lot, can an Indian break 10 seconds? And they can," said Hiller, before adding, "It's all about how, and I think positivity will help the mindset of our sprinters genuinely believe that they can be faster, they can be better and they can, they can run under 10 seconds and ultimately that's what we need." Meanwhile, besides Animesh, Lalu Prasad Bhoi and Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati — both from Odisha — also took part in the event and competed in another race and clocked 10.42 seconds and 10.47 seconds respectively. In another race, Manikanta Hoblidhar ran it in 10.52 seconds. Animesh will next compete in the Monaco Diamond League on July 11 where he will run the 200m in the U23 category. He will hope to lower his NR there, too, after his time of 20.27 seconds last month, during the Atleticageneve 2025 event in Switzerland, wasn't recognised as NR because of wind assistance. While individually, he has been having a hugely successful season, he has also been in brilliant form in the relays and alongwith Amlan Borgohain, Gurindervir and Manikanta, they broke the 15-year-old NR in 4x100m by clocking 38.69 seconds during the National Relay Carnival 2025 in Chandigarh in April.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
India's fastest man! Animesh Kujur shatters national record in men's 100m, becomes first Indian to run under 10.2 seconds
Animesh Kujur (Image via X/@OlympicKhel) India's Animesh Kujur set a new national record in the men's 100m with a time of 10.18 seconds at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting 2025 in Greece, winning Final B and subsequently becoming the first Indian to run the 100m in under 10.2 seconds. In Final B at the Municipal Stadium of Vari K Baglatzis, Kujur outpaced Greek athlete Sotirios Garagganis, who clocked 10.23 seconds and Finland's Samuli Samuelsson, who finished at 10.28 seconds. In the overall standings, Kujur secured third place behind South Africa's Benjamin Richardson (10.01) and Oman's Ali Anwar Al-Balushi (10.12). Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The 22-year-old's performance broke the previous national record of 10.20 seconds set by Gurindervir Singh at the Indian Grand Prix 1 in Bengaluru. Kujur also improved his personal best by 0.9 seconds from his previous mark of 10.27 seconds. Kujur holds another national record in the men's 200m with a time of 20.32 seconds, which earned him bronze at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Republic of Korea. Poll How significant do you think Animesh Kujur's achievement is for Indian athletics? Very significant Somewhat significant Not significant Unsure The athlete was also part of the record-setting Indian men's 4x100m team at the National Relay Carnival 2025, where they clocked 38.69 seconds in Chandigarh. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Concentrated Siberian Ginseng Extract 2oz Superior Ginseng Undo ALSO READ: Animesh Kujur: From suffering heatstrokes to breaking records and is India's 'Usain Bolt' In the men's 100m Final A, Indian runners Lalu Bhoi and Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati finished fourth and fifth with times of 10.42 and 10.47, respectively. Kujur participated in the men's 200m race in Greece, finishing seventh with a time of 20.73 seconds. His teammate Manikanta Hoblidhar placed 11th, clocking 21.28 seconds. The Indian 4x100m relay team, comprising Kujur, Bhoi, Dondapati, and Singh, finished second to Turkiye with a time of 39.99 seconds. In the women's events, Moumita Mondal achieved a personal best of 13.24 seconds in the 100m hurdles victory. The current national record in this event is held by Jyothi Yarraji at 12.78 seconds. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
After setting NR, Afsal seeks tactical boost
New Delhi: Late last month, when Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath ran 1:48.33 to finish fourth at the National Federation Senior Athletics Championship in Kochi, he had lingering doubts about his technique and potential. He had started the season with a win at the National Games in Dehradun in February and followed it up with a second-place result at the Indian Grand Prix 1 in Bengaluru in March. The timings, however, were disappointing — 1:49.13 and 1:47.09 respectively. The Federation Cup was his third successive below-par run (1:48.33) in as many outings, and so Afsal approached his coach Ajith Markose at the Reliance Foundation centre in Bengaluru. 'We went through a few of my races and the coach concluded that I was slipping tactically. Timing the acceleration and pacing yourself are crucial in 800m, and the coach helped me in those aspects,' Afsal said. A fortnight later, Afsal paced himself better and broke the national record with a 1:45.61 run at UAE Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai to take the second place. He finished behind Kenya's Nicholas Kiplagat, who clocked 1:45.38s to win the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze-level competition. The previous national record was held by his Kerala statemate Jinson Johnson who ran 1:45.65 at the Guwahati Inter State Championships in 2018. 'I really look up to Jinson and running him close that day gave me the belief that I can break his record someday. Finally, it has happened and I hope it is the start of a new phase in my career,' Afsal, who is employed as a Junior Warrant Officer in the Indian Air Force, said. Jinson was among the first to call him when Afsal went past his mark last week. 'He is very happy for me. I have trained a lot with him and he has always helped me get better,' he said. Incidentally, Afsal's then PB of 1:46.79 had come in the same race in which Johnson set the national record but he has since struggled for consistency. 'I need to get tactically sound. I haven't had much international success but I feel with better planning, I will be able to deliver much more,' Afsal, the Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist (1:48.43), said. 'I need to have a better understanding of pace. Like in Hangzhou, the Dubai final was a slow race while the semi-final was fast. In slow races, leaders tend to drop speed in last 100m, so it is all about conserving yourself and pushing at the right time.' The Dubai effort was Afsal's first sub-1:46 run of his career but it wasn't good enough to breach the 2025 World Championships automatic qualification time of 1:44.50s. Earlier, Afsal had also missed the marker (1:47.77s) for this month's Asian Championship. 'I would've made the cut for the Asian event had I planned my race better. I am now focussed on collecting enough ranking points to make it to the Worlds,' he said. Afsal is likely to head to Europe for a bunch of competitions in June for exposure he believes will help him get better. 'I truly believe Indians can run 1:44 provided we work on our tactical nous,' the 29-year-old concluded.
