Animesh Kujur Blazes to 10.14s, Records Fastest 100m by an Indian on Foreign Soil

Animesh Kujur Clocks 10.14s, Registers Fastest 100m by an Indian on Foreign Soil

India’s leading sprinter Animesh Kujur continued his impressive season by clocking a personal-best 10.14 seconds to finish second in the men’s 100m final at the PUMA Fast Arms Fast Legs 2026 meet on Saturday.

The performance is the fastest 100m ever recorded by an Indian on foreign soil and the second-fastest by an Indian overall, behind only Gurindervir Singh’s national record of 10.09 seconds.

Animesh had already shown signs of a breakthrough by winning his heat in 10.19 seconds before lowering his personal best by one-hundredth of a second in the final, eclipsing his previous mark of 10.15 seconds.

Already the national record holder in the men’s 200m, the Odisha sprinter has emerged as one of India’s finest short-distance runners, now owning three of the five fastest 100m timings in Indian athletics history.

India’s All-Time Fastest Men’s 100m Timings
Gurindervir Singh – 10.09s
Animesh Kujur – 10.14s
Animesh Kujur – 10.15s
Gurindervir Singh – 10.17s
Animesh Kujur – 10.18s
Eyes on the Asian Games

The latest milestone comes after Animesh secured qualification for the Asian Games in the men’s 200m at the Inter-State National Athletics Championships in June. He clocked 20.74 seconds, comfortably bettering the Athletics Federation of India’s qualifying standard of 20.88 seconds.

However, the national record holder in the event admitted that achieving the qualification mark—not chasing a fast time—had been his primary objective. “Honestly, I was not here for timing. The idea was to secure the qualification mark for the Asian Games. Since I have got it now, I will further focus on improving before the Asian Games,” Animesh said.

His coach Martin Owens echoed those sentiments, revealing that the sprinter was still recovering after helping India win bronze in the mixed 4x100m relay at the Asian Relay Championships. “I wanted him to do well and achieve the qualification mark. We are very tired from the long trip of the Asian Relay Championships. He didn’t have much time to recover,” Owens said.

Why the 100m Is Producing Bigger Results

Although Animesh holds the national record in the 200m with 20.32 seconds, his biggest gains over the past year have surprisingly come in the shorter sprint. He believes stronger domestic competition in the 100m has played a key role in his rapid improvement.

“I have said this multiple times that 200m is my pet event and I enjoy doing it more than anything else. However, I don’t get much competition in India. Like in 100m, Guri, Manikanta and Pranav are there. I don’t have anyone to push me in the 200m. That is why all my good performances have come in the 100m,” he said.

With the Asian Games on the horizon, Animesh’s latest 10.14-second effort not only reinforces his status as one of India’s fastest-ever sprinters but also suggests the national 100m record could soon come under renewed threat.