Animesh sets new men’s 200m National record; Praveen equals his National triple jump mark

Animesh Kujur breaks 200m National record, Praveen Chithravel equals triple jump record at National Federation athletics championships.

Animesh Kujur could not contain himself, leaving out a loud roar of joy and relief at the Maharaja’s Stadium here on Thursday.

The 21-year-old from Odisha had just broken the three-year-old 200m National record, clocking an impressive 20.40s, while beating record-holder Amlan Borgohain to the gold.

It was a fantastic evening at the 28th National Federation athletics championships for minutes earlier Tamil Nadu triple jumper Praveen Chithravel had equalled his own National record (17.37m) and also qualified for this September’s Tokyo Worlds.

And Asian silver medallist long jumper Shaili Singh proved that she is getting back to her best with a 6.64m effort that saw her break her mentor Anju Bobby George’s 23-year-old meet record while beating Asian Games silver medallist Ancy Sojan (6.46m).

“After the fantastic 100m on Monday, I knew something was going to happen in the 200m today,” said Animesh.

“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve got to thank the guys who pushed him, Mani, Raghul and Amlan,” said Martin Owens who coaches Animesh at the Odisha Reliance Centre.

Praveen had crossed 17m in Bengaluru last month and prior to the final here he had written ‘17.20m for my coach Yoandris’ behind his chest number and proudly showed it to the world after his big jump.