National Games 2025 Athletics: Animesh Kujur wins gold, Sawan Barwal sets 10,000m record

The National Games 2025 athletics competitions kicked off with thrilling performances, as sprinters and distance runners made their mark on the opening day.

Odisha’s Animesh Kujur was the star of the day, clocking 10.28 seconds to win gold in the men’s 100m final, equaling the Games record set by Amlan Borgohain in 2022.

Maharashtra’s Pranav Gurav surprised many with a silver medal finish in 10.32 seconds, while Borgohain had to settle for bronze (10.43 seconds).

In the men’s 10,000m final, Sawan Barwal of Himachal Pradesh dominated the race, finishing in 28:49.93, breaking the previous Games record (28:54.29) set by Gulveer Singh in 2022.

Maharashtra’s Kiran Matre (29:04.76) and Madhya Pradesh’s Vinod Singh (29:43.60) completed the podium. Barwal’s victory continues his strong form, having won bronze at the 2023 Asian Half Marathon and the Delhi Half Marathon 2024 among Indian runners.

Maharashtra’s Sudeshna Shivankar proved to be the fastest woman on the track, winning the women’s 100m final in 11.76 seconds. Nithya Gandhe of Telangana (11.79s) and Giridharani Ravikumar of Tamil Nadu (11.88s) secured silver and bronze, respectively.

Other key results

Men’s 1500m: Yoonus Shah (Services) - 3:46.48 (Gold)

Women’s 1500m: KM Chanda (Delhi) - 4:17.74 (Gold)

Men’s Discus Throw: Gagandeep Singh (Services) - 55.01m (Gold)

Women’s Discus Throw: Seema (Haryana) - 52.70m (Gold)

Men’s Long Jump: Shahnavaz Khan (Uttar Pradesh) - 7.70m (Gold)