How Animesh Kujur has been lighting up the India athletic tracks in 2025

In a year filled with non-stop sporting events, no story has likely captivated the Indian sports enthusiasts quite like Animesh Kujur's meteoric rise in the field of sprint racing . Dubbed as the “fastest man of India”, the 22-year-old has shown unreal consistency and has become one of the prominent sprinters of the country.

The sprinter from Chhattisgarh has quickly transformed from a promising athlete to a genuine medal contender on the international stage. For a nation hungry for sporting glory, his ascension signals the dawn of a new era in sprint racing. Let’s take a look at how the sprinter has been lighting up the tracks in 2025.

Historic qualification for World Athletics Championships

Kujur became the first Indian male sprinter to qualify for the World Athletics Championship, scheduled to be held in Tokyo from September 13 to 21, 2025. He qualified for the tournament by winning a gold medal in the men’s 200m category at the National Inter-State Athletics Championship in Chennai on August 23. He clocked 20.63 seconds and bettered his own meet record of 20.65 seconds set in 2024.

History at 20.63s! 🏃‍♂️💨 Animesh Kujur creates history to become the first Indian male sprinter to qualify for the World Athletics Championships, after smashing his own meet record in the 200m at the 64th National Inter-State.#ChennaiMeet2025 #AFI #SeniorAthleticsChampionships pic.twitter.com/R0Zce6hYBy

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 24, 2025

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As no male sprinter has competed at the event before, Animesh Kujur’s achievement is a special milestone.

National record breaker

Kujur has modified the record books of Indian sprinting history by capturing record figures at both 100m and 200m. He broke the 100m record by clocking 10.18 seconds at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting in Greece earlier this year. The record was previously held by Gurindervir Singh, who had notched 10.20 seconds.

As for the 200m, he set a new national record of 20.32 seconds at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on May 31. With this performance, he improved his earlier record of 20.40 seconds from the Federation Cup in Kochi. Additionally, he registered 20.27 seconds at the AtleticaGeneve 2025, which is the fastest 200m time ever by an Indian. However, it did not go down in the record books because of the excessive wind speed at the tournament.

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Asian Athletics Championships Bronze

Kujur secured a bronze medal in the men’s 200m at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi, South Korea. This made him only the second Indian to win a medal in the 200m at this event, following Dharambir Singh’s bronze in 2015. His performance immensely contributed to India’s strong showing in the tournament. Eventually, the country finished with 19 medals in the tournament and ended up second in the medal tally.

A team player

Kujur made waves not only in the individual categories but also in the 4x100m relay. The sprinter was a part of the Indian men’s 4x100m relay team alongside Gurindervir Singh, Manikanta Hoblidhar, and Amlan Borgohain, which set a new national record of 38.69 seconds at the National Relay Carnival 2025 in Chandigarh.

Kujur’s exceptional performance in 2025 has established him as a beacon of hope for Indian athletics on the global stage. His performance has certainly uplifted the popularity of this vertical of athletics, and based on how he performs from hereon, he could emerge as a massive inspiration for a new generation of athletes across the country.