ATHENS: Indian sprinter Animesh Kujur has officially become the fastest man in India after breaking the national 100m record at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting held in Vari, a suburb of Athens, Greece. The 22-year-old clocked an impressive 10.18 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 10.20 seconds set by Gurindervir Singh.
Kujur’s performance placed him ahead of Greece’s Sotirios Garagganis (10.23s) and Finland’s Samuli Samuelsson (10.28s) in the World Athletics Continental Tour silver label event. With this achievement, Kujur now holds both national records in the 100m and 200m events, having clocked 20.32 seconds at the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea this May.
Meanwhile, on the same day in Poland, India’s Asian Games silver medallist Mohammed Afsal made history by becoming the first Indian to run the 800m in under 1 minute and 45 seconds. Competing at the Memoriał Czesława Cybulskiego meet in Poznan, Afsal clocked 1:44.96 and finished sixth in a highly competitive Heat A/1.
His timing broke his own previous national record of 1:45.61, which he had set in May at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. The earlier record of 1:45.65 had stood since 2018, set by Jinson Johnson. The event was won by Polish athlete Maciej Wyderka with a personal best and meet record of 1:44.23.
Both athletes’ achievements mark a significant moment in Indian athletics, setting new benchmarks for sprint and middle-distance running.
