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The Print
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Print
Mohammed Afsal breaks 800m national record in Poland
Earlier in May, the 29-year-old Afsal had recorded 1:45.61s to break the seven-year-old national record of 1:45.65s which was set by Jinson Johnson in 2018, during the UAE Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. Afsal, who had won the silver medal in 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, clocked 1:44.96 minute and finished sixth in Heat A/1 of the event. Poznan (Poland), Jul 5 (PTI) Asian Games silver medallist Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath on Saturday broke his own national record and became the first Indian to record below the 1: 45 minute mark in men's 800m race at Memoriał Czesława Cybulskiego. Afsal had finished second in the event. On Saturday, the first three positions were taken by Polish runners with Maciej Wyderka finishing first with a timing of 1:44.23s, which was his personal best as well as the meet record. Filip Ostrowski (1:44.25s) and Patryk Sieradzki (1:44.56s), who finished second and third respectively, also recorded their personal bests. The fourth and the fifth spots were taken by Great Britain's Justin Davies (1:44.73s) and Tiarnan Crorken (1:44.89s). PTI DDV KHS This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
News18
05-07-2025
- Sport
- News18
Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath Sets New 800m National Record
Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath became the first Indian to break 1:45 in the men's 800m, clocking 1:44.93 at the Memoriał Czesława Cybulskiego, setting a new national record. Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath, who is a Reliance Foundation Athlete, has become the first Indian runner to break the 1:45 barrier in the men's 800m, clocking 1:44.93 and smashing his own national record at the Memoriał Czesława Cybulskiego in Poznań, Poland on Saturday. Afsal, who secured a silver medal in the men's 800m at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, finished sixth in Heat A/1 of the event with his personal best timing of 1:44.93. This performance improved the previous record of 1:45.61 set by himself at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai in 2025. The top three positions in the race were claimed by Polish runners, with Maciel Wyderka winning the A/1 Heat with a time of 1:44.23, setting his personal best and a Meet Record. Filip Ostrowski came second with 1:44.25, while Patryk Sieradzki finished third with 1:44.26. The Czesław Cybulski Memorial is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver. Initiated in 2019, the meet honours coach Czesław Cybulski, who graduated from the Secondary Sports School in Gdansk in 1955 and later worked as a trainer and physical education teacher. Initially specializing in sprints, he later focused on throwing events. Cybulski was closely associated with the City of Poznan and AZS Poznań from 1968 onwards. Who Is Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath? The 29-year-old Afsal, who won a silver medal in the men's 800m at the 2019 South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal, hails from Palappuram in the Palakkad district of Kerala. Recently, he has been training with the Reliance Foundation in Bengaluru. He serves as a Junior Warrant Officer in the Indian Air Force. Afsal first gained recognition in September 2013 by winning a gold medal at the first Asian School Track and Field Championships in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. (With inputs from IANS) News18 Sports brings you the latest updates, live commentary, and highlights from cricket, football, tennis, badmintion, wwe and more. Catch breaking news, live scores, and in-depth coverage. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Mumbai, India, India First Published:
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Mohammed Afsal breaks National Record in men's 800m again
Mohammed Afsal broke the 800m National Record while finishing sixth at the Czesław Cybulski Memorial 2025, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver, in Poznan, Poland, on Saturday. The 29-year-old Afsal clocked 1 minute 44.93 seconds, becoming the first Indian to go below the 1:45 mark. Afsal bettered his previous NR of 1 minute and 45.61 seconds, which he had set in May 2025 at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix — he broke the seven-year-old record set by Jinsen Johnson in 2018. Afsal made headlines in 2023, when he won the silver medal in teh men's 800m event at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Meanwhile, It was a successful day for the home athletes as Maciej Wyderka, Filip Ostrowski and Patryk Sieradzki finished first, second and third respectively. Justin Davies of Great Britain finished fourth while his compatriot Tiarnan Crorken finished fifth.
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.
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Animesh, David clinch gold medals in UAE Athletics GP
National record-holder Animesh Kujur won the 200m comfortably while P. David Solomon took the men's long jump title in the UAE Athletics Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze-level event, in Dubai on Friday. Animesh's time, 20.45s, is the fastest by an Indian in an international meet while long jumper David, the recent Federation Nationals champion, had a best of 7.78m. India also won the men's 4x100m relay clocking 38.76s, but there was a bit of a disappointment in the 100m with National record-holder Gurindervir Singh (10.41s) and Manikanta Hoblidhar (10.52) finishing eighth and 12th. Gurvinder holds the national record with 10.20s while Manikanta is the third fastest in India's all-time list with 10.22. Asian silver medallist Shaili Singh (6.43m) took the women's long jump silver while Asian Games silver medallist Ancy Sojan (6.33) won the bronze. Select results (events which feature Indians): Men:100m (placings after finals 1 & 2): 1. Ali Al Balooshi (Oma) 10.19s, 8. Gurindervir Singh (Ind) 10.41, 10. T.A. Tamilarasu (Ind) 10.44, 12. Manikanta Hoblidhar (Ind) 10.52; 200m: 1. Animesh Kujur (Ind) 20.45s, 5. Amlan Borgohain (Ind) 21.08; 400m (finals 1 & 2 combined): 1. Suleiman Abdirahman (UAE) 45.66s, 2. Mohamed Sinan (Ind) 46.67, 14. Juswin George Varghese (Ind) 52.20; long jump: 1. David Solomon (Ind) 7.78m; 4x100m relay: 1. India (38.76s), 3. India (39.30). Women: 400m (placings after finals 1 & 2): 1. Aminat Kamarudeen (UAE) 53.44s, 12. Rachel Elizabeth Sunil (Ind) 1:08.48, 3. Shriya Sarin (Ind) 1:08.66; long jump: 1. Esraa Owis (Egy) 6.67m, 2. Shaili Singh (Ind) 6.44, 3. Ancy Sojan (Ind) 6.33, 4. Moumita Mondal (Ind) 6.32, 7. Deepanshi Singh & Kusuma Ravada (both Ind) 6.03. triple jump: 1. Andreea Talos (Rou) 13.33m, 3. Poorva Sawant (Ind) 13.09, 5. Niharika Vashisht (Ind) 13.05; hammer: 1. Bianca Ghelber (Rou) 72.18m, 6 Harshita Sehrawat (Ind) 61.39.
