“I want to get to 10 in 2026,” sprinter Animesh Kujur told India Today during his off-season. It’s not something he’s talked about publicly before. But after the year he’s had, Animesh knows that dreaming quietly isn’t enough anymore.
2025 was a breakthrough year for Animesh Kujur. His speed turned heads, his times rewrote the record books and suddenly the conversation around the Indian sprint Wednesday had a new name. Last season, Animesh became India’s fastest man. He clocked 10.18 seconds in the 100 meters and 20.32 seconds in the 200 meters, his favorite event. He just went up at different times of the year – race after race, meet after meet.
Despite being introduced to sprinting later than most, the 22-year-old’s rise has been steady rather than sudden. Those who have closely followed his journey know that 2025 was not a dizzying leap. Kujur had a breakout season in 2025.
From breaking national records multiple times to competing on the U23 Diamond League circuit and qualifying for the World Athletics Championships, Animesh has accomplished most things an Indian sprinter dreams of in a single season. There were also moments of awe – meeting his idol Usain Bolt, watching the world’s best up close – moments that stayed with him long after the spikes came off.
Now, as 2026 approaches, Animesh wants more.
“The fun part is done,” he says. “Now I want to assert my authority.
“I want to become the first Indian to do 10 and 20 in 100 and 200,” Animesh said. “I’m very invested in this. I want to do it at the Senior Federation meeting itself (May 2026).”
With the Asian Games scheduled to be held in September, Animesh believes he will be a medal contender in at least the two events he will be participating in – the 200m sprint and the men’s 4x100m relay.
“This time when I go to the Asian Games, I will go as a medal contender, not just to participate,” he said. “The Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games are my main goals.
MEETING BOLT AND LESSONS FROM 2025
Trust is not accidental. Animesh is currently ranked third in Asia in men’s 200m. More importantly, they believe they belong there. That belief, he says, came not just from training, but from results that came when it mattered.
For now, only athletes can train. Verification comes when the clocks agree. Animesh remembers the exact moment the shift happened. Kujur met his idol Usain Bolt, got advice from the best. (Photo: Instagram/Animesh Kujur)
“I was hovering around my record times in the 2024-25 transition,” he said. “I knew in training that I was improving, so I was confident that something would happen.
The first breakthrough came under unlikely circumstances.
“I was in Chennai and fell seriously ill,” Animesh recalled. “I was suffering, but I kind of turned it around and ran 20.40 in the 200. That gave me the belief that I could do things that year.”
A medal at the Asian Athletics Championships mattered all the more.
“Qualifying for the Asian Championships made me happy more than the records,” he said. “When I medaled there with another national record, 20.32, it was special. Kudzur will want to rise above his shortcomings from 2025 in 2026. (Photo Reuters)
Success brought visibility. Clips of Animesh races are going viral on social media. His celebration – a nod to Usain Bolt – quickly caught on with younger fans. With attention came opportunity and one dream was quietly crossed off the list.
Combined with Puma and Dream Set Go, Animesh met Bolt in New Delhi in the off-season. Bolt had seen Animesh compete earlier at the World Athletics Championships, though he was unlikely to have particularly noticed.
Animesh recalled that security personnel briefly mistook him for Bolt and started following him instead of the Jamaican. It was necessary to repair them.
“I lost it when I first saw him (Bolt),” Animesh said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I also met PV Sindhu and Sreejesh, but Bolt was something else. He’s the best sprinter ever and yet he was so cold.”
BOLT’S COUNCIL
Animesh did not waste the opportunity. He asked him about his running technique, the areas where he is lacking.
Bolt’s feedback was specific.
“He told me not to open my right hand so much,” Animesh recalled.
Rada immediately returned to training. However, its application was not easy.
“I talked to my coach and gave it a try,” Animesh said. “But my timing got short.
He paused before explaining further.
“I was impatient,” he admitted. “It takes a while for the body to get used to new techniques. I went back to my coach and told him I wanted to go back to my original style. That was my mistake. He told me to be patient.”
LESS RUNNING, MORE TRAINING IN 2026
If 2025 gave Animesh faith, it also taught him restraint.
Last season he raced a lot more than originally planned. His calendar was supposed to end with the World University Games, but a strong performance at the Asian Championships suddenly brought the World Athletics Championships into play.
Plans changed quickly.
To secure qualification, Animesh added races, including the Diamond League U23 meeting in Monaco, where he ran alongside Australian prodigy Gout Gout. The travel piled up. The races kept coming.
“I ran too many competitions,” Animesh said. “Because the goals moved, I couldn’t find my peak at the right time. There was a lot of traveling and I was tired.”
2026, he says, will look different.
The emphasis is on training, improving speed and planning the season properly. The thinking goes beyond this year, to the 2027 World Cup.
In 2025 he finished last in the heats, but for 2027 the goal is to reach the semi-finals. Everything takes time, says Animesh. It’s a process, strangely ironic to the event – which is called a sprint.
“This time I was doing heats,” he said. “Next it’s the semifinals. Then the finals. Then the medals.”
In this rapid rise, Animesh credits his coach for keeping him grounded.
“He keeps telling me that everything has a process,” Animesh said. “You can’t skip steps. I have age on my side.”
STAY HUMBLE, DON’T PREVENT YOURSELF
One of the biggest lessons Animesh took away from last year was learning to stay humble. While some of that comes from his coach, Martin Owens, the rest comes from traveling and observing how elite athletes behave.
“When athletes get recognition in India, it’s arrogance,” Animesh said. “People try to show others.
What he saw abroad surprised him. Kujur won the bronze medal at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships. (Photo: Instagram)
“In Europe, everyone just wants to learn. They don’t show off.”
He noticed how coaches and athletes shared knowledge freely. During the World Championships, Coach Gout Gout even offered to help if Animesh ever competed in Australia.
“The best part of Worlds was watching the top athletes prepare for the races,” Animesh said. “I really enjoyed Letsile Teboga’s warm-up. It used to be hard to adapt to these things. Now I enjoy learning them.”
In early 2026, Animesh Kujur quietly returned to training after a short off-season. Last year’s noise has settled. It remains a simple goal, shared privately.
Ten apartments.
If he gets there, history will follow. But Animesh knows better than most that speed is built slowly—session by session, mistake by mistake.
Follow Animesh Kujur – or as he is affectionately called – India’s Usain Bolt as the build-up to the Asian Games begins.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
January 4, 2026
