Commonwealth Games 2026: All you need to know about Animesh Kujur

Animesh Kujur has emerged as one of the biggest success stories in Indian athletics in recent years.

The 23-year-old sprinter from Chhattisgarh has transformed from a village footballer with no formal athletics training into one of the country's fastest men, rewriting national records and spearheading India's sprinting revolution.

As the national record holder in the men's 200m and a key member of India's record-breaking 4x100m relay team, Kujur heads to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as one of India's strongest contenders.

Early days

Born on June 2, 2003, in the tribal village of Ghuitangar in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, Kujur grew up far removed from India's athletics hubs.

His father served in the Chhattisgarh Police while his mother is a police inspector, and discipline formed a central part of his upbringing despite there being no sporting background in the family.

Unlike many elite sprinters, Kujur did not begin his sporting journey on the track. Football was his first love, and he continued playing the game until his late teenage years.

It was only during the COVID-19 lockdown that his path changed. While jogging with local youngsters preparing for army recruitment, he was encouraged to participate in a local athletics competition.

Without a coach, professional spikes or even the knowledge that the event served as a national-level qualifier, Kujur impressed with his natural speed.

His performance caught the attention of coach Martin Owens, who invited him to train at the Reliance Foundation Athletics High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar.

He later studied at Sainik School and the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), while initially balancing athletics with a job in the Chhattisgarh Forest Department before committing fully to the sport.

Rising through the ranks

Kujur's rise through Indian athletics has been remarkably swift. After moving to Bhubaneswar, he benefited from structured coaching, world-class sports science support and high-performance training at the Reliance Foundation centre.

Within just a few years of formal coaching, he established himself among India's leading sprinters. His rapid improvement saw him win multiple national titles while also earning international success, including a bronze medal at the World University Games.

Training alongside some of the country's best sprinters, including Gurindervir Singh, helped elevate his performances and contributed to the emergence of one of Indian athletics' most exciting rivalries.

Breaking barriers

The 2025 season proved to be the breakthrough year of Kujur's career.

In May, he clocked 20.32 seconds to win bronze in the men's 200m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, setting a new national record that still stands. Weeks earlier, he had been part of the Indian quartet that established a national record of 38.69 seconds in the men's 4x100m relay.

His biggest moment came in July when he ran 10.18 seconds at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting in Greece, becoming the first Indian man to break the 10.20-second barrier in the men's 100m and briefly claiming the national record.

The performance marked another milestone for Indian sprinting and highlighted the country's growing presence in international sprint events.

Pushing Indian sprinting forward

Kujur carried his momentum into the 2026 season, improving his personal best in the 100m to 10.15 seconds during the National Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi. Although Gurindervir Singh reclaimed the national record with a historic 10.09-second run at the same competition, Kujur continued to establish himself among India's elite sprinters.

He also won the men's 200m title at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships to secure qualification for the 2026 Asian Games and maintained consistent performances on the international circuit.

His achievements have made him the national record holder in the men's 200m, a former 100m national record holder and a crucial member of India's record-breaking relay squad. They have also positioned him among the highest-ranked Indian sprinters in recent years.

Kujur now heads to Glasgow as one of the key figures in India's sprint contingent.

Alongside Gurindervir Singh, he represents a new generation of Indian sprinters that has pushed national records to unprecedented levels and challenged long-held assumptions about India's potential in the short sprints.

Having reached the top level in just a few years of professional training, Kujur's journey from a remote tribal village in Chhattisgarh to the international stage has become one of Indian athletics' most remarkable stories.

The Commonwealth Games present another opportunity to build on that rapid rise and further establish himself among the continent's leading sprinters.