‘I will qualify for the World Athletics Championship, don’t worry!’ Animesh Kujur may have jokingly said this to his coach Martin Owens… but if Animesh achieves this position, he will create history for India. The 22 -year -old Kujur will become the first Indian men athlete to participate in the 100 meter and 200 meter race in the World Athletics Championship.
Animesh, who came out of Ghitanagar, a small village in Chhattisgarh, is now writing a new chapter in Indian athletics. He has already become the fastest runner of India. He completed the 100 meter race in 10.18 seconds and broke the 10.20 second record of Gurinderveer Singh.
What has Animesh Kujur done new in athletics?
Kujur is moving rapidly at the age of just 22 years and with 6 feet 2 inch length. In July, he took part in the Diamond League for the first time, where he faced Australia’s emerging stars Got Got (Gout Gout,), who is already drawing attention to everyone in the world of athletics.
In the Monaco Diamond League, Kujur participated in the U-23 200 meter race and became the first participant in India in the sprint competition. Instead of feeling pressure from the great platform, he inspired himself and fought to win a medal with some of the world’s largest emerging stars.
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 – 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.
Animesh Kujur Gearing Up for Diamond League 2025, Monaco.#Rfsports #Letsplay #Animeshkujur pic.twitter.com/8tbdroluj8
– Reliancefoundationsports (@RFYOTHSPORTS) July 11, 2025
Instead of being afraid of the match, Animesh Kujur worked hard (20.55), but he missed the podium for just tenth second. Nimesh lagged behind Jack Naeem (20.42 seconds) of South Africa. This time matters a lot. India is usually seen rarely in world -class sprint race like 100 meters or 200 meters, but Kujur is changing this thinking. Kujur coming from the eastern border of Chhattisgarh is constantly making records and bringing India into discussion on the international stage.
Will Kujur be able to qualify for the World Athletics Championship?
Although direct qualifying for the World Championship (10.00 seconds in 100 meters and 20.16 seconds in 200 meters) seems difficult to qualify through Kujur ranking system. Nevertheless, he is fully committed to qualifying directly, which is a proof of his inner spirit.
Animesh’s coach Owens, who was with him in the interview, smiled and said, ‘Animesh does not want a medal or record, he gets himself with hard work. He just wants to improve himself. That is why it was special for him to come to Grand Prix- to know what big players do, how they live, and what they sacrifice. It is not just a matter of running or lifting weight, it has to leave ice cream, does not have to go to weddings and leave much more.
Owens believes that coming into the Diamond League and living with Olympic Champions like Noa Liles (100 meters) and Latsile Tebogo (200 meters) was an important step taken in the right direction for this young athlete.
How was the experience of Kujur in the Diamond League?
In this interview kept by Reliance Foundation, Kujur said, ‘I saw Lyles and Tabogo, took pictures with them and saw their warm-up routine. I learned a lot to apply in my training. The crowd was packed, enthusiasm was at its peak… I just wanted to run. ‘
However, Kujur admitted that he was not satisfied with his performance in Monaco. His time was 20.55 seconds, which was slow from his personal best 20.32 seconds.
Coach Owens said, ‘This race took place between strong wind (-1.9 m/sec), which slowed down the pace of all the contestants. Apart from this, Monaco had a third race in Europe this season, and fatigue had a huge impact on him.
Kujur was away from the world of professional athletics before running shoulder to shoulder with the Olympic champions. Actually, he was not even running seriously during the Kovid-19 lockdown. Initially he was a football player and sometimes used to run with army personnel near his village. An area where there was neither a track, nor coach, nor a plan to prepare any international level player… It was the place where the fastest runner of a generation would come out, no one had even thought that.
… So did this suggestion make Animesh a big runner?
But as it is said, every big journey starts with a small step. Even for Kujur, that start with a simple suggestion-‘Why don’t you take part in a local race?’ When he completed his first race, there was some change in him.
The story gets a little blurred here. Owens jokingly said, “He was really a big boy, and he requested me to take me to Reliance Foundation HPC (High Performance Center).”
‘This is a funny story. He says that I requested him to join, but I say that he had requested me. So the memory of either of us is better, ‘Owens said laughing and barely completed his talk.
Under the guidance of Owens, Kujur proved his talent soon when he won the U-23 200 meter race in his first age group championship. His great stature and Kathi suspected some people of age fraud, but his high speed could not be denied.
Owens recalled, ‘He was raw, absolutely raw, so we thought that we could do something with him. When he joined HPC, we realized that he could not move. He had no mobility. So we worked a lot on her mobility and left her loose.
Why did Owens engage with Animesh despite starting a long race?
Owens says that the humility of Animesh was the most special thing, and it is the same even today. Ovens said. ‘Another good thing he has is that he is very beautiful, careful and kind to others as a young man. And he is always inspired to perform his best.
The desire to be his best is clearly visible in his progress. According to the Ovance, the race that brought Animesh into the headlines (National Games of 2025, where he completed the race in 10.28 seconds, was actually a poor performance.
Owens said, ‘He was in amazing rhythm in the National Games. After a slow start, he ran the ground and broke the national record. ‘After this, Kujur reduced the time of 0.10 seconds in Dromia Meat in Greece and became the fastest Indian.
Will Animesh Kujur be able to cross the limit of 10 seconds?
To qualify for the World Championship, Animesh needs 10 seconds in 100 meters and 20.16 seconds in 200 meters.
Coach Owens says, ‘If you get the right person, the right time and the right situation, then any of the top 5 runners in India can do this. But the most hope is from Kujur.
Owens said, ‘When someone crosses 10 seconds, I will be the happiest person of India … People stop asking me that’ When will this happen? ‘ Be patient and trust the process. This will be the right person, the right race, with the right circumstances, whether it is animesh or someone else. Then India’s media will also be happy.
Animesh also fully agrees with this and insists and says- ‘My form in the National Games was to run less than 10 seconds, but the start did not happen well .. So it could not happen. The coach had said- it will take time, just trust. We will run you less than 100 meters 10 and 200 meters less than 20. Bus on the process.
Why does coach Owens expect more from Animesh Kujur?
Monaco Diamond League performance figures show that Animesh was equal to Got Got between a mark of 40–130 meters. In other classes, Got Got was a bit sharp, perhaps here and there from the tenth part.
Owens is confident that if training is done properly, Kujur can be faster in every part of the 200 meter race. Owens said, ‘We want to make every part faster. Where Animesh gave equal to Got Got, we also want to improve him further. We will work on weaknesses and increase strength further.
And perhaps this was the real purpose of participating in Monaco Diamond League- Understanding where Animesh stands among the emerging talents of the world.
The next season is very busy for Animesh. On July 15, he finished second with a time of 10.28 seconds in a 100 meter sprint in a silver standard meat in Luzorn, which was far ahead of India’s next best runner Gurinderveer Singh (10.54 seconds), after which he would train in Bokhum, Germany, and then he will return to India for more meetings in Tokyo (September).
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