Animesh Kujur's 10.14s records the fastest 100m by an Indian on foreign soil

India’s national 200m record holder Animesh Kujur produced another breakthrough performance on Saturday as he clocked a personal best of 10.14 seconds to finish second in the men’s 100m final at the PUMA Fast Arms Fast Legs 2026 meet.

The 10.14 seconds mark is the fastest 100 m by an Indian on foreign soil and the second fastest time by an Indian overall, behind only leader Gurindervir Singh’s 10.09 seconds.

Animesh signaled his form earlier in the day by winning his heat in 10.19 seconds before improving further in the final. The final run took one-hundredth of a second off his previous 10.15 seconds, continuing a season in which he has steadily dropped his times.

Animesh, who already holds the national record in the men’s 200m, has established himself among the fastest Indian sprinters in history even over the shorter track. He now owns three of the five fastest 100m times by an Indian.

INDIA’S ALL TIME MALE FASTEST 100MW TIMES

Gurindervir Singh – 10.09s
Animesh Kujur – 10.14s
Animesh Kujur – 10.15s
Gurindervir Singh – 10.17s
Animesh Kujur – 10.18s

Earlier in June, Odisha sprinter qualifies for men’s 200m at continental showpiece after clocking 20.74 seconds in the final at the Interstate National Athletics Championships, he comfortably bettered the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) qualifying standard of 20.88 seconds.

While the qualifying mark was achieved without difficulty, Animesh afterwards admitted that the time was not up to the standards he had set for himself. His personal best in the event remains a national record of 20.32 seconds.

“Honestly, I was not here for the timing. The aim was to secure the Asian Games qualifying mark. Now that I have it, I will focus further on improving before the Asian Games,” Animesh told reporters after the race.

The interstate championships came shortly after the Asian Relay Championships where Animesh helped India win bronze in the 4x100m medley relay. His coach Martin Owens said the priority was qualifying rather than chasing a fast time after a tough travel schedule.

“I wanted him to do well and qualify. We’re very tired from the long journey of the Asian Relay Championships. He didn’t have much time to recover,” Owens said.

Although Animesh has repeatedly described the 200m as his preferred event, his biggest breakthroughs over the past year have come in the 100m.

After setting a national 200m record of 20.32 seconds in May 2025, he has only dipped below 20.50 seconds once. In contrast, he lowered the Indian 100m record twice before Gurindervir Singh claimed it with a national best time of 10.09 seconds.

Animesh believes the difference lies in the level of competition.

“I have said it several times that the 200m is my pet and I enjoy it more than anything else. But I don’t have much competition in India. Just like in the 100m there are Guri, Manikanta and Pranav. There is no one to push me in the 200m. That’s why all my good performances have come in the 100m,” he said.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

Jul 11, 2026 09:32 IST