Wetzlar, July 11 (IANS) India’s national 200m record holder Animesh Kujur continued his rapid rise as one of the country’s premier sprinters by clocking a personal best 10.14 seconds to finish second in the men’s 100m final at the PUMA Fast Arms Fast Legs 2026 meet on Saturday.

The Odisha athlete’s performance is the fastest 100m ever recorded by an Indian on foreign soil and the second-fastest by an Indian overall, only behind Gurindervir Singh’s national-leading 10.09 seconds. Animesh had shown his form earlier in the day by winning his heat in 10.19 seconds. He improved in the final, shaving one hundredth of a second off his previous personal best of 10.15 seconds. This continues a season in which he has consistently lowered his times.

Already the national record holder in the men’s 200m, Animesh has established himself among India’s fastest-ever 100m runners. He now owns three of the five fastest 100m times by an Indian, with the all-time list as follows: Gurindervir Singh (10.09s), Animesh Kujur (10.14s), Animesh Kujur (10.15s), Gurindervir Singh (10.17s), and Animesh Kujur (10.18s). His progress in the shorter sprint comes after he secured qualification for the Asian Games 200m at the Inter-State National Athletics Championships in June. He clocked 20.74 seconds, comfortably below the Athletics Federation of India qualifying standard of 20.88 seconds.

Despite achieving the qualifying mark easily, Animesh admitted he was not happy with the timing, saying qualification was his only goal. “Honestly, I was not here for timing. The idea was to secure the qualification mark for the Asian Games. Since I have got it now, I will focus on improving before the Asian Games,” he said after the race. His personal best in the 200m is still the national record of 20.32 seconds.

The Inter-State Championships followed India’s bronze medal finish in the mixed 4x100m relay at the Asian Relay Championships, where Animesh played a key role. His coach, Martin Owens, revealed that after a demanding travel schedule, the focus had been on securing qualification instead of chasing a fast time. Although Animesh has often said the 200m is his preferred event, many of his biggest improvements in the past year have been in the 100m. Since setting the national 200m record in May 2025, he has gone below 20.50 seconds only once. In the 100m, he has twice lowered the Indian record before Gurindervir Singh reclaimed it with a national-best 10.09 seconds. His latest 10.14-second run highlights his growing status as one of India’s top sprinting talents ahead of the Asian Games.

–IANS

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