New Delhi: After approaching Amlan Borgohain’s national record of 20. 52s for a significant portion of last season, Animesh Kujur finally achieved the quickest half lap by an Indian on Thursday, successfully defending his title at the ongoing National Federation Athletics Championship in Kochi and qualifying for this year's Asian Championships, for which the qualifying threshold was set at 20. 53s.

Entering the race as one of the main contenders for the previous national record of 20. 52s -- established in this same competition three years ago -- 21-year-old Kujur clocked a remarkable 20. 40s, finishing ahead of Borgohain (20. 80s) and Ragul Kumar (20. 85s). This marks the first occasion in six attempts that Kujur has outperformed Borgohain in a meet recognized by World Athletics.

The race turned out to be the swiftest 200m sprint on Indian soil, with four sprinters finishing under 21 seconds. In addition to the three medallists, Karnataka’s Manikanta Hoblidhar recorded 20. 91 seconds, securing the fourth position.

Competing in Lane 5, Kujur was consistent off the starting blocks before picking up speed at the bend. He established a significant lead in the final stretch and maintained it for the last 60m to claim both the title and the record. His now-familiar imitation of Lightning Bolt followed suit.

“I anticipated that I would clock a good time after my earlier race today. I felt a significant boost today, particularly around the 100m mark. I want to express my gratitude to my coach, the Odisha government, and my entire team at Reliance Foundation for their unwavering support,” Kujur stated after the race.

He did not meet the World Championships qualifying mark of 20. 16 seconds but has now set his sights on the prestigious event. “My focus is on the World Championships,” he remarked..

Chithravel hits the global stage

Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist triple jumper Praveen Chithravel matched his own national record of 17. 37m and secured a spot in the World Championships scheduled to take place in Tokyo this September. The previous record was established at 17. 22m.

The 23-year-old Chithravel, who competes for JSW, achieved his top jump on his third attempt to clinch the gold medal. He initially set the national record in Havana in May 2023.

“My goal was to achieve a jump of over 17. 20m today,” he shared. Abdulla Aboobacker finished in second place with a jump of 16. 99m, while Mohammed Muhassin came in third with a leap of 16. 28m.

Following a lackluster 2024 in which he only exceeded the 17m mark once and placed 12th in his qualifying round at the Paris Olympics, Chithravel has commenced the season positively. He won gold at the Uttarakhand National Games in February with a modest jump of 16. 50m before achieving a 17. 13m result at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Bengaluru in March, earning a second-place finish.

In the women’s long jump, Shaili Singh surpassed 6. 64m to win the gold medal and break the 23-year-old meet record of 6. 59m, previously set by her mentor Anju Bobby George. Ancy Sojan (6. 46m) and Moumita Mondal (6. 45m) placed second and third, respectively.

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