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India Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- India Today
Jyothi Yarraji, Shirse lead India to six-gold haul at Taiwan Open Athletics 2025
Asian champion Jyothi Yarraji won the women's 100m hurdles race with yet another impressive time as India won six gold medals in the Taiwan Open international athletics competition here on record holder Yarraji clocked 12.99 seconds to pocket the gold at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, ahead of Japanese runners Asuka Terada (13.04 seconds) and Chisato Kiyoyama (13.10 seconds), who took the silver and bronze 25-year-old Yarraji had won gold in the Asian Championships in South Korea on May 29 with a time of 12.96 seconds. Her national record stands at 12.78 seconds. Another national record holder, Tejas Shirse also won gold in the men's 110m hurdles, clocking 13.52 seconds, the second fastest time of his athletes Hsieh Yuan-kai (13.72 seconds) and Kuei-Ru Chen (13.75 seconds) won the silver and bronze 23-year-old Shirse's national record stands 13.41 best 4x100m relay quartet of Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain won gold, clocking 38.75 seconds, just six-hundredth of a second outside of the national record of 38.69 seconds set by the same team at the National Relay Carnival in Chandigarh earlier this it fell short of the timing which would have taken the team to Tokyo World countries have already qualified for the World Championships in September through the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China in May and only two slots are available. Nigeria and Netherlands are currently in the reckoning for the two slots with 38.20 Indian team of Sudheeksha Vadluri, Sneha Sathyanarayana Shanuvalli, Abinaya Rajarajan and Nithya Gandhe won gold in the women's 4x100m relay, clocking 44.06 national record in this event stands at 43.37 seconds clocked by the quartet of Archana S, Dhanalakshmi, Hima Das and Dutee Chand in Aboobacker and Pooja also won gold in the men's triple jump and women's 1500m jumped 16.21m, well below his personal best of who had won a silver in the Asian Championships in South Korea last month, clocked 4 minutes, 11.63 seconds to win the gold. She has a personal best of 4:09.52 which she had clocked in 2023.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
EXPLAINED: How precision in the Exchange Zone can power India's sprint relay surge
Nothing unnerves a track coach more than a baton exchange in a sprint relay. You could have the fastest runners at your disposal, but even a slightly flawed handover can spell disaster for a relay team. For Indian sprint coach James Hillier, however, the three 30-metre baton exchange zones on a 100m relay track aren't looming pitfalls. He sees them as fast-moving windows of opportunity — zones that could launch his team into the world's elite. Under his guidance, the Indian men's 4x100m relay team — comprising Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain — broke the national record while representing Reliance at the National Relay Carnival in Chandigarh in April. Their time of 38.69 seconds now places them among Asia's best. But to progress further, Hillier and his athletes have little in terms of immediate gains — except how they exploit the baton exchange zone. 'The most critical part of the relay is the speed at which the baton moves through the box. If someone isn't brave coming into the box, the outgoing runner can't push out hard enough. All our changeovers in Chandigarh were very safe — we played it safe because I wanted them to get the record, to make a statement,' said Hillier, Athletics Director at Reliance Foundation, in a conversation with Sportstar. 'What you want is to exchange the baton towards the end of the box. That's the fastest method, because the outgoing runner has been accelerating longer and is moving faster.' Pushing the limits of the exchange zone increases the risk of disqualification, but it's a trade-off Hillier and his team are willing to make. 'We're working on giving the runners the confidence to take the baton in the last 10 metres of the zone. That brings the time down significantly. As the chemistry builds and they improve, I want those exchanges to happen closer to the end of the box.' Simple in theory, complex in execution. Four sprinters, running at full tilt, in a high-pressure environment. Hillier is under no illusions. 'Putting the baton in the hand isn't the issue. The critical thing is timing the run-out. Most relay errors happen because athletes leave too early. They get excited. When you see someone coming in fast, it's intimidating. You fear not getting out fast enough, so you end up going early.' Hillier has adjusted the baton exchange, starting with the outgoing runners' start position. The Indian team no longer uses the three-point start — a crouched stance with two feet and one hand on the track — because Hillier believes it impairs depth perception and causes miscued acceleration. Another key change involves the mark, a tape placed in the exchange zone to cue the outgoing runner's acceleration. 'I have asked them [outgoing runner] not to focus on the chest of the incoming runner, but on his feet. They have to imagine a small circle around that marking tape, and when the incoming runner's foot lands in that circle, that's when they have to set off,' explains Hillier. Under Hillier, India's sprinters have also made strides individually. Four of the six fastest 100m timings by Indian men belong to this quartet. Gurindervir set a new national record of 10.20 seconds in March. Three of the four — Gurindervir, Manikanta, and Animesh — are under 25. Still, expecting any of them to break the 10-second barrier may be unrealistic, given how marginal gains become at the elite level. Yet Hillier believes India can break the 38-second barrier even without a sub-10 runner. 'To estimate a relay time, you add the four individual 100m times and subtract between 2.1 and 3.0 seconds. A 2.4-second differential is good; 3.2 is exceptional. Right now, our team has a 2.4-second differential. In the 2010 national record (38.89), it was 2.81. 'I had predicted 38.62 even with poor exchanges. So, the 38.69 they ran suggests the exchanges weren't great. With excellent exchanges, they could run 37.82. If they matched the exchange efficiency of the 2010 team, they'd be at 38.2.' Apart from striving to meet their coach's standards, the Indian relay team is also chasing history. India's last medal in the men's 4x100m relay at the Asian Athletics Championships came in 1979. To find a medal at the Asian Games itself, you have to go even further back, to 1970. That drought could end soon. The 38.69-second effort would have secured India a podium finish at every Asian Games and AAC over the past decade — and even a gold medal at three of the last seven AACs. Since 2024, only Japan, China, and South Korea have clocked faster relay times among Asian nations. Notably, Japan and China were Olympic finalists in Paris. Still, Hillier (left) isn't interested in burdening his athletes with expectations. 'Of course we want to win a medal. But we can't go in expecting it. In athletics, the moment you start expecting, things often don't go to plan. We need to make it happen. 'The key is to stay focused. We can't let excitement get in the way. We have to get in and out of the exchange box at the right time.' But at the global level, the gap is wider. Indian sprinters would need to trim nearly a second off their collective timing to contend for a medal at the World Championships or the Olympics. Their next big target is the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, but the road is steep. India missed the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, which offered 14 of the 16 direct qualification spots for the Worlds. Jamaica, which missed out on qualifying in Guangzhou, is likely to claim one of the two remaining slots through the top season-best list. For India to claim the last spot, it must at least better the Netherlands' season-best of 38.20 seconds. For Hillier, even this ambitious goal feels within reach — because of the progress already made. 'It's been a real challenge to get here — to convince people that Indian sprinters are good enough, that they can compete, and even win medals — not just in Asia but potentially at the world level. 'We've had to swim against the tide, against the idea that India doesn't have the athletes for a sprint relay. That mindset is changing. And that's crucial.'
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Animesh Kujur: From suffering heatstrokes to breaking records and is India's 'Usain Bolt'
Usain Bolt and Animesh Kujur (Agency Photos) NEW DELHI: "Baap re baap (Oh my gosh!)" -- Animesh Kujur could barely cope with the humidity as the 2025 athletics season was still picking up pace in Chennai. Along with a host of competitors, April's Indian Open Athletics Meet brought punishing heat and stifling humidity. For the 21-year-old from Odisha, it was too hot to handle. "I actually got heatstroke both before and after the events. I had to run four races in a single day and just couldn't stay hydrated," Animesh, Asia's current top-ranked 200m sprinter, tells in a free-wheeling chat. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo 'We didn't plan hydration properly. I train in somewhat similar conditions in Odisha, but I didn't think it'd be that extreme.' Battling heat Just five days later, Animesh was due to race at the Senior Federation Cup in Kochi. As the extreme Kerala heat made national headlines, training was out of the question; recovery was all he could manage. "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to perform well there either," he recalls. Still nursing fatigue, he qualified for the final and clocked 20.60 seconds in the semis. 'I could feel I was running at 95% of my potential.' With stalwarts like Manikanta Hoblidhar (former 100m national record holder) and Amlan Borgohain (former 100m and 200m national record holder) in the mix, the final needed more than potential. 'I stuck to my plan and pushed hard in the last 100 metres. After crossing the finish line, I didn't celebrate. I was just staring at the clock, waiting to see if I'd gone under 20.50.' Then it flashed: 20.40 seconds. A new national record. Animesh Kujur 'It felt unreal,' Animesh recollects. What followed was a familiar celebration, arms pointed to the sky in a lightning bolt, a tribute to his idol. 'When I got into athletics in 2021, the only name I knew was Usain Bolt; tall, skinny, a bit like me, even the same skin tone,' he laughs. 'Over the last two years, I've started leading the 100m and 200m fields in India. Bolt has been such a big inspiration that I always try to recreate his signature pose.' Breaking records Breaking records is now Animesh's habit. Later in April, he teamed up with Gurindervir Singh, Manikanta, and Amlan at the National Relay Carnival in Chandigarh. The quartet clocked 38.69 seconds to set a new national record in the men's 4x100m relay, after just one training session together. Animesh, who trains in Bhubaneswar, had to join the others in Mumbai just before the meet. 'James Hillier sir (the athletics director at Reliance Foundation) helped us a lot with baton exchanges, the steps, the rhythm, everything,' says Animesh. 'My coach, Martin Owens , manages everything: how I eat, sleep, behave, and where I go. Just two years ago, my life was completely different. Now it's fully professional. I can feel the difference,' he admits. Football's loss, athletics' gain Athletics, however, wasn't initially in his scheme of things, as Animesh started out playing football in school. 'During Covid, I couldn't just sit at home,' he says. He began jogging with army aspirants. Someone suggested he try a state meet in November 2020. Unaware it was a national qualifier, he went and surprised everyone. In January 2021, he ran his first nationals without formal training, finishing fifth in both the 100m and 200m. Coming from a family of police officers and defence personnel, Animesh was once urged to quit sports due to the future uncertainty around the field and the fear of fatal injuries: 'My mother was worried about the injuries and lack of stability in sports. She asked me to quit. But my uncle and father backed me.' He remembers: 'In 2022, around 12:30 am, I was sitting outside with my dad and uncle. My mom was completely against athletics. But my uncle stood by me and told my dad, 'Let him try, yaar. I'm with him — let's see how it goes.' That support meant everything.' Three years on, Animesh has become one of the brightest stars in Indian athletics. As his parents now beam with pride, their son is busy taking selfies with his followers. Just last week, he clinched gold in the 200m at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix, clocking 20.45 seconds, a new meet record, and the fastest time by an Indian in an international race. Virat Kohli was always a VIBE during India's practice sessions Later this month, he will line up in Gumi, South Korea, aiming for glory at the Asian Athletics Championships and a ticket to the World Championships. 'I want to hit 20.20 seconds. I've already clocked 20.32 -- unofficially, but it gave me confidence,' he says. 'The qualifying mark for Worlds is 20.16, but a gold medal in Gumi will get me in anyway. I'm ranked No.1 in Asia right now, so the goal is to stay consistent.' It is going to be a long road ahead for Animesh, but the sprinter definitely knows the importance of patience and perseverance, and that he is just off the blocks. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
