Animesh Kujur breaks national record again; wins historic 200m bronze at Asian Athletics Championships 2025

Mumbai: In a historic run for Indian athletics and the state of Odisha, Animesh Kujur, from the Odisha Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre, clinched a historic bronze medal in the 200m sprint at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi, Republic of Korea.

Backed by the strong and sustained partnership between the Odisha Government and Reliance Foundation, Animesh clocked 20.32 seconds, breaking his own national record set earlier this year— a testament to the world-class infrastructure and coaching ecosystem developed through this collaboration.

Hailing the 21-year-old, Martin Owens, Head Coach, Odisha Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre said, “Animesh did exceptionally well in Gumi today and demonstrated a high level of maturity for a 21-year-old in his first ever major championships. The bronze medal is an outstanding achievement for the whole high-performance centre team and everybody involved in Odisha. The high-performance centre has a real family atmosphere, with a highly supportive and holistic approach. Looking forward, if we get all the preparations right, the World Championships are not beyond Animesh’s reach.”

Ecstatic after his achievement in the Championships, Odisha Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre athlete Animesh Kujur quoted, “I’m really proud of winning the bronze medal in my first ever major international championship. At the start line, I was in a good mental space and felt confident in my abilities. I kept composure throughout the final race and was pleased to see myself break the national record once again. I think this is just a start and I want to reach greater heights in the near future.”

The competition itself was a highly successful venture for athletes supported by Reliance Foundation delivered their best-ever performance, claiming a total of five medals — three golds, one silver, and one bronze — contributing significantly to India’s second-place finish overall with 24 medals – the country’s best-ever showing at the Championships. While Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles), Gulveer Singh (5000m & 10000m) struck gold, Ancy Sojan (women’s long jump) bagged a silver and Animesh’s bronze completed a superb five-medal haul for the team.

Reliance Foundation athletes’ critical success in Gumi is a testament to its vision of fostering a culture of sports and empowering India’s youth to deliver with their full potential at the global level.