Animesh Kujur, Gurindervir Singh shine in India's strong start in Asian Games athletics

Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh gave India a flying start in the men’s 100 at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, both securing their place in the semi-finals on Thursday. Kujur finished third in heat 1 in 10.36 seconds, while Gurindervir clocked 10.38 seconds for second place in heat 4. Both secured automatic qualification by finishing in the top three in their respective heats.

Kujur had to fight his way into the qualifying positions after a slow start. The Indian sprinter found another gear in the final 25 meters to cross the line behind Thailand’s Puripol Boonson and China’s Keli Zeng. Boonson won the heat in 9.95 seconds, while Zeng finished second in 10.22 seconds.

Asian Games 2026 September 24 Highlights

Meanwhile, Gurindervir produced a composed ride in Heat 4 to finish behind Oman’s Malham Al Balushi, who won in 10.29 seconds. His qualification adds to a breakthrough season in which he set an Indian national 100m record of 10.09 seconds at the Federation Cup in May. Kujur, who has a personal best of 10.14 seconds, is the second fastest 100m runner in India.

INDIAN ATHLETICS MEDALS SEPTEMBER 24

Seema brought India its first athletics medal of the day by winning bronze in the women’s 10,000m final. India then added silver in the 4x400m medley relay when the quartet clocked 3:14.46. Bahrain won gold in 3:12.87, while Vietnam finished third in 3:14.54.

The silver came after India finished second in their qualifying run, extending the country’s run placing on the podium in the mixed relay at the Asian Games. India won gold in Jakarta in 2018 before winning silver in Hangzhou in 2023 and adding another silver in Nagoya. This time, India edged out Vietnam by just 0.08 seconds, with a remarkably close margin separating the two teams at the finish line.

OTHER ATHLETIC EVENTS OF THE DAY

Asha Ilango finished fourth in the women’s triple jump final with a best of 13.83 and narrowly missed out on the podium. She was tied with China’s Yi Li at the distance, but lost on countback. Asha needed to better Li’s mark of 13.79m in her last attempt to get ahead of her Chinese rival, but only managed 13.59m.

Niharika Vashisht finished tenth in the same event. In the heptathlon, Pooja finished fourth in the shot put with a best effort of 11.44m, while Anamika Aneesh was eighth with 11.15m. The duo then endured a tough climb in the 200m, with Anamika clocking 25.96 seconds and Pooja finishing in 26.27 seconds.

ASIAN GAMES ATHLETIC RESULTS SEPTEMBER 24

India won silver in the 4x400m medley relay.
Seema won bronze in the women’s 10,000m final.
Animesh Kujur finished third in heat 1 of the men’s 100m in 10.36 seconds to qualify for the semi-finals.
Gurindervir Singh finished second in Heat 4 in 10.38 seconds to qualify for the semi-finals.
Asha Ilango finished fourth and Niharika Vashisht 10th in the women’s triple jump final.
Anamika Aneesh and Pooja finished seventh and ninth in the heptathlon after the first day.
In the high jump, Anamika was sixth with 1771 points and Pooja ninth with 1761. Anamika cleared 1.74m while Pooja managed 1.71m.
After the 100m hurdles, Anamika was tenth with 868 points and Pooja eighth with 894.

– The end