Bhubaneswar, March 23 – India's fastest man, Animesh Kujur, has adopted the tips given by legendary sprinter Usain Bolt during their meeting last year, and is confident of further improving his national record timing this season.
Kujur met Jamaican Bolt, the world record holder in men's 100m (9.58 seconds) and 200m (19.19 seconds), during a promotional event in Delhi in September 2025.
"I showed him my running technique. And I asked him what else I could improve. Then he gave me a lot of advice. For example, about my running action, like how to raise my hands during the run," Kujur said, who currently holds the national records in both the 100m and 200m.
"He (Bolt) gave me a lot of advice. So, I have incorporated those into my training. And I have seen a significant improvement. It took time. Initially, it felt strange. It's always different when you try something new. So, I just focused on that," he added ahead of the inaugural National Indoor Championships here.
The 22-year-old will be participating in the two-day event held at the state-of-the-art indoor facility at the Kalinga Stadium complex, competing in the 60m event.
He set both the 100m and 200m national records of 10.18 seconds and 20.32 seconds in 2025, which marked his breakthrough year.
Kujur believes that the 60m indoor race will help him in the longer sprint events.
"I'm using this (60m indoor event) as a training tool. I'm seeing improvements that will help in the 100m and 200m. And this track is also a Mondo track. It's a fast track," he said.
"This year, my goal is very ambitious, with the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games coming up. I need to compete, and it's also happening at my home ground," he added.
He will open his outdoor season at the Indian Open Series on April 11 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, where he will also compete on the newly laid Mondo track.
"My goal is to perform well on this fast track. And I'm also focusing on the Delhi competition. Because there's a Mondo track there too," he said.
When asked if his participation in the 60m indoor event is to improve his starting part of the 100m race, he said, "Now, I have seen a lot of improvement. It's all thanks to training. Last year, I didn't get good timing in many competitions because of my start. But this year, I'm focusing a lot on starts. And the 60m is also a great opportunity for me this year."
"I'm very confident now. Because my start is very good. It's a world-class start. I know it might not be official, but it will happen," he added.
However, he admitted that indoor training is tough.
"I've been training at this Kalinga indoor facility. Yes, indoor training is tough. It requires a lot of effort. I've fallen a few times," he said.
Animesh 2.0?
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Kujur appeared to have tapered his performance towards the second half of last year, attributing it to physical fatigue after participating in numerous events.
"Last year, I didn't expect to qualify for the World Championships. I didn't qualify based on qualifying times; I qualified through ranking. But when I performed well at the Asian Championships, I got a lot of points. So, I participated in many competitions. This led to fatigue. I didn't even realize it at the time. It was my first experience," he said.
"I had a chance to compete in the World Championships. Why should I miss it? So, I tried to qualify as much as possible. By the time I reached the World Championships, my body was already fatigued," he added.
He said he will focus on quality rather than quantity this season.
"For the Asian Games, I know that I'm going to qualify. That's why I'm not focusing on the number of competitions. I want to compete in quality competitions. It's not like last year, when I was just running and running," he said.
"This year, I'm also learning how to manage my energy during competitions. I will implement all these things this year. Yes, you can say it will be Animesh 2.0," he concluded.
