First came a stunning run from former NR holder Gurindervir Singh, who clocked 10.17s, but as he posed for the pictures, the second heat of 100m semi-final commenced with current NR holder Animesh Kujur, gearing up for history.
The 22-year-old from Chhatisgarh saw his training partner breaking the NR and thought, ‘If you can do it, I can do it too.’ He blazed to the finish line in 10.15s breaking the NR again and breaching the qualification mark for Commonwealth Games 2026.
“You know they are trying to kill each other on the track but are best buddies off track,” quipped their coach James Hillier who was gushing at his two wards creating history. “These two lads are in very good shape but honestly, I was not thinking about the records, not in the semis.”
“I just told them to run the race like you want to run in the final,” he told The Indian Express on the sidelines.
National record in 100m.
Gurindervir pushes the bar in 100m
Misses the CWG qualification by 0.01s pic.twitter.com/xiRt4PNzGF— Pritish Raj (@befikramusafir) May 22, 2026
This is the fourth time the duo has lowered the national record in past two years. At the start of 2025 in March, Gurindervir clocked 10.20s at Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru to lower the previous national record of 10.23s of Manikanta Hoblidhar. Animesh equalled it with 10.20s and then broke it in Greece last July, to clock 10.18s.
The cooler evening session of the Ranchi event was in complete contrast to the morning session when athletes struggled with heat and performances were sub-optimal. So the finals on Saturday evening at 7.10 pm, will be a cracker.
Gurindervir held back
When the national record fell for the first time, the photo on the finish line showed Gurindervir leaning backwards as if he was holding himself back.
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“I just ran for the 80m mark,” said Gurindervir before rushing for an ice bath session and soft tissue recovery.
Later coach Hillier clarified what he meant. “Since, he was running in the semis, I think he went all-in for the first 80m before just holding himself back. Now, I wish he didn’t do that but it’s fine because the final is also important for us,” he explained.
But as Gurindervir reined himself in for a bit, he missed the Commonwealth Games qualification mark by 0.01s though he will have a chance again when he runs tomorrow in the 100m final.
Animesh blazes again
While Gurindervir rationed his effort, Animesh decided to go all out and just glided on the track after a superb start off the blocks.
Animesh lowers the bar further with 10.15s.
Crazy
In a gap of 5 minutes, Indian 100m national record has gone from 10.18 to 10.15.Animesh also confirms his CWG berth. pic.twitter.com/ue5zqnrNGm
— Pritish Raj (@befikramusafir) May 22, 2026
Animesh, who had troubles with his starts in the 100m, was quickly off the blocks and finished in a flash leaving the rest of the field and the onlookers in awe.
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“You have to give it to Animesh. He is such a fierce competitor. He saw Guri doing the NR and said, I’ll do it again. For Animesh, we had one target in mind and we have got it, the qualification for CWG,” said Hillier.
Gurindervir who was also amazed at his compatriot’s performance, gave him a hug and posed for couple of pictures before wheeling off.
“Me and Guri (Gurindervir) just laughed it off after Animesh’s result. I mean Guri did what he had to but you can’t top this. Important thing for both of them is to take rest, recover mentally and focus on the finals tomorrow.” said Hillier.
Sprint scene improving
James Hillier believes that the rise of this group of sprinters has pushed the competition in the event to a different level.
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To put it in context, it took nine years for the Indian sprinters to improve the national record from 10.26s to 10.20s. But in the space of less than 12 months, the record has gone further down to 10.15s.
“When you have a group of competitors who are regularly doing well at both national and international level, I think it pushes the envelope further. That is exactly what the group of these four (Gurindervir, Animesh, Manikanta, and Amlan) has done in the past two years,” said Hillier.
With Gurindervir dipping below 10.20s, India has two sprinters below 10.20s for the first time in history. While the achievement doesn’t look mammoth as compared to world levels, it is significant for a country that has barely known sprinters breaking national records so frequently.
“Both of them need to perform tomorrow. There is no point if you don’t have a blazing 100m final,” concluded Hillier.
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As the sun would rise over Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi tomorrow, the spotlight will shift to the showdown between two of India’s fastest men. Whether the national record falls yet again or not, one thing is certain— there will be drama, a sprinting drama.
