Federation Cup 2025: Mr Consistent Animesh Kujur Shatters 200m National Record in Kochi

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There's a famous line in Shah Rukh Khan's Om Shanti Om - "Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho... to puri kainaat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai (They say that if you truly desire something with all your heart... then the entire universe conspires to help you achieve it)". It feels as though the universe had a similar plan for Animesh Kujur.

Time and again, he danced on the edge of history, coming heartbreakingly close to Amlan Borgohain's 200m national record of 20.52s, not once but five times last season. He even brushed shoulders with glory at the National Games in Uttarakhand earlier this year, clinching gold yet narrowly missing the mark.

But today, destiny stopped flirting and finally embraced him. Today, Animesh Kujur shattered the silence with thunder. With a blistering personal best of 20.40s, he didn't just win gold in the men's 200m he rewrote the record books, eclipsing Amlan's mark.

The boy from Odisha didn't just run, he roared his way into the Asian Athletics Championships, storming past the qualifying mark of 20.53s. However, Animesh narrowly missed the World Championships qualification mark of 20.16s, but he can chase this timing in the upcoming competitions.

The chase began last year

Last season, Animesh delivered outstanding performances in both the 100m and 200m, coming agonizingly close to breaking national records in both events. He first clocked 20.62 seconds in the 200m final to clinch gold at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar, making him the second-fastest Indian of all time behind Amlan Borgohain.

He then clocked 20.65 seconds in the men's 200m final at the Inter-State Athletics Championships in Panchkula. Later, he repeated the same timing-20.65 seconds-at the India Open U-23 Athletics Championships, once again narrowly missing the 200m national record. In the 100m, he nearly shattered Manikanta Hoblidhar's national record (Previous national record) of 10.23 seconds, running 10.27 in Spain.

He even ran 20.57s at the All India Inter University Athletics Meet last December, but this competition is not recognized by World Athletics, so the mark did not count officially. He missed the World Championships mark by a whisper. But if there's one thing we've learned Animesh Kujur always answers back with a roar.