Animesh regains 100m NR from Gurindervir within minutes

(PTI)

RANCHI, May 22: National record was smashed twice within minutes in men’s 100m race as drama unfolded on the opening day of the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition here on Friday. Gurindervir Singh of Reliance first shattered Animesh Kujur’s 10-month old national record of 10.18 seconds, clocking 10.17 seconds in the first semifinals heat. The new mark survived just a few minutes as Animesh ran 10.15 seconds in second semifinals heat to regain his national record. Both Gurindervir and Animesh will have another showdown in the final on Saturday. Animesh, representing Odisha, went past the 2026 Commonwealth Games qualifying standard of 10.16 seconds set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). In the morning session, Deepak Bhatt of Uttarakhand won the men’s 10,000m race with a mediocre time of 29 minutes and 42.93 seconds. Ravina Gayakwad of Maharashtra won the women’s 10,000m race with a time of 35:30.98, far below the 2026 CWG mark of 31:14.14.