Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India’s national record holder Animesh Kujur continued his impressive rise in sprinting by securing a silver medal in the men’s 200m and breaching the qualifying standard for the 2026 Commonwealth Games at the New Taipei City Athletics Open on Sunday.
The 23-year-old clocked 20.47 seconds to finish second behind Thailand’s Puripol Boonson, who won the race in a lifetime-best 20.03 seconds. Chinese Taipei’s Ge Wuyanming took bronze with a time of 20.65 seconds.
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Kujur’s effort was comfortably inside the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark of 20.61 seconds and stood as his season-best performance. Although he remained short of his national record of 20.32 seconds, set at the Asian Athletics Championships last year, the timing was the fourth fastest of his career.
The Indian sprinter had also clocked 20.40 seconds and 20.45 seconds in 2025, underlining his consistency in the event. The Asian Games silver medallist’s 20.03-second run elevated him to joint third on the all-time Asian 200m list.
Kujur’s silver rounded off a successful outing for the Indian contingent at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver-level meet in Chinese Taipei.
India had opened its medal account on Saturday through long jumper Shaili Singh, who claimed gold in the women’s event with a best jump of 6.24m. She finished ahead of Vietnam’s Tran Thi Loan (6.23m) and Australia’s Zoe Chester (6.13m).
The 21-year-old’s season-best remains 6.58m, achieved at the Federation Cup last month, while her personal best of 6.76m, set in 2023, continues to stand as the Indian U20 national record. The senior national record of 6.83m belongs to Anju Bobby George.
India’s women’s 4x100m relay team also struck gold. The quartet of SS Sneha, Srabani Nanda, Sudeshna Shivankar and Tamanna clocked 44.07 seconds to equal the meet record and finish ahead of Thailand, which settled for silver in 44.68 seconds.
Tejas Shirse added another medal with a silver in the men’s 110m hurdles. The national record holder clocked 13.58 seconds in the final, missing gold by just 0.01 seconds. Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Yuan-kai won the race in 13.57 seconds, while Malaysia’s Mohamad Armin Zahryl Abdul Latif finished third in 13.87 seconds.
The New Taipei City Athletics Open was upgraded from a Bronze-level competition to a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet for the 2026 season, attracting a stronger field from across Asia and beyond.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
