Background
Animesh Kujur was born in Ghuitangar, Jashpur district, Chhattisgarh, on June 2, 2003, and came into athletics after initially playing football before switching to sprinting. He studied at Sainik School and later at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar. He first trained under Dinesh Tandi before working with Martin Owens and James Hillier at the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High Performance Centre. Kujur holds Indian records in the 100m and 200m.
Breakthrough and records
His breakthrough came at the 2025 National Open Athletics Championships in Bengaluru, where he ran 20.27 seconds in the 200m — a performance that established him as one of India’s leading young sprinters. He also holds the national record of 20.32 seconds, set at the 2025 Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru. The mark made him one of the fastest Indians ever over 200m and underlined his emergence as a major figure in India’s sprint revival.
Current season
The 2026 season opened with a 6.71-second run in the 60m at the National Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar. He followed it with wins over 100m and 200m at the Indian Athletics Series in Delhi, before running 10.15 seconds and 20.64 seconds at the National Senior Championships in Ranchi. At the Indian Athletics Final Series, he won both sprints in 10.21 and 20.59 seconds. He now heads for the Asian Games in September.
In their own words
“If I had got a different lane, it would have been better.” — Animesh Kujur, speaking to NNIS Sports, July 2026, after his Commonwealth Games 200m campaign in Glasgow.
