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With the 2026 calendar featuring important assignments specified arsenic the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, an aggravated contention tin beryllium expected among the Indian 100m antheral sprinters.
In 2025, we saw immoderate sub-10.30 and sub-10.20 timings arsenic the National grounds changed hands from Gurindervir Singh (10.20) to Animesh Kujur (10.18). The quartet of Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar, Gurindervir and Amlan Borgohain broke a 15-year-old National relay grounds by clocking 38.69.
Following a dull 2nd fractional of 2025, the caller twelvemonth has raised hopes. Former National grounds holder Manikanta feels the aggravated rivalry is bully for everyone.
“The Indian 100m rivalry has go better, that’s wherefore our races person go consistently good, everyone is aiming for nationalist records and idiosyncratic bests,” Manikanta told The Hindu, pursuing a grooming league astatine the Kalinga Stadium here. “The steadfast contention has pushed us. This mode we tin instrumentality the Indian sprinting gyration forward.”
The Asian Games qualification people of 10.16 has already acceptable the barroom high. Getting a medal successful the continental lawsuit whitethorn beryllium pugnacious arsenic Thailand’s Puripol Boonson has pushed the bounds up by clocking 9.94 past year.
Manikanta is geared up to little his idiosyncratic champion from 10.19 to sub-10.10. But winning an Asian Games medal remains a precedence for him. “Whatever beryllium the time, I conscionable privation a medal,” said Manikanta.
Asian championships 200m bronze medallist Kujur is keen to get a medal successful 100m and 200m in the Asian Games. “I’m moving connected my start to achieve 10.10 oregon 10.05. Hope to medal successful the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. I privation to beryllium consistent in grooming and competition. With practice, we tin make communal knowing for the relay,” said Kujur.
Pranav Gurav (10.27), Harsh Raut (10.38) and S. Tamilarasu (10.22) besides clocked awesome marks in 2025.
“The contention helped maine get my idiosyncratic champion past year. My absorption volition beryllium connected idiosyncratic events and qualifying for the Asian Games,” said Gurav.
Amlan Borgohain (10.43 successful National Open) aspires to beryllium backmost successful 100m relay and is keen to flooded the nerves that held him backmost successful the past Asian Games.
Borgohain said the camaraderie and spot among the sprinters held the cardinal to success. “Team athletics is different. How you’re extracurricular the way volition bespeak connected the track,” said Borgohain.
While competing with each other, Indian sprinters volition request to make amended coordination to debar repetition of faulty baton speech and eventual disqualification astatine the Gumi Asian championships past year.
