Animesh rewrites 200m national mark as India finish with 24 medals

When it comes to men's sprinting in Asia, success for Indians has been few and far between. On Saturday, Animesh Kujur demonstrated his talent, clocking an impressive 20.32 seconds to finish third in 200m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.

- Shantanu Srivastava

NEW DELHI: Kujur eclipsed the national record a second time in just over a month, having clocked 20.40s at the National Federation Senior Athletics Championships in Kochi. For once, it was the effort more than his bronze finish that stood out.

Kujur's first major international medal also underscores the recent rapid strides Indian sprinters have made. Gurindervir Singh broke the 100m national record in March (10.20s) while the 4x100m relay quartet—Kujur and Gurindervir are part of it—has also reset the mark (38.69 secs).

Before he left for Gumi, Kujur had said his desire was to "chase time and not think about medals". "I also feel I can better that my national record, which should put me in a medal position," the 21-year-old had said.

On Saturday, Kujur powered through the bend before holding his form and finishing behind Japan's Towa Uzawa, who won in a championship record 20.12 secs, and Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Abdul Atafi (20.31s). Four of the eight finalists clocked their personal bests.