Animesh, Gurindervir shine in India's strong start in Asian Games athletics

Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh gave India a strong start in the men’s 100m at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, both booking their places in the semifinals on Thursday. Kujur finished third in Heat 1 in 10.36 seconds, while Gurindervir clocked 10.38 seconds to finish second in Heat 4. Both secured automatic qualification by finishing inside the top three in their respective heats.

Kujur had to fight his way into the qualifying positions after a slow start. The Indian sprinter found another gear over the final 25 metres to cross the line behind Thailand’s Puripol Boonson and China’s Keli Zeng. Boonson won the heat in 9.95 seconds, while Zeng finished second in 10.22 seconds.

Gurindervir, meanwhile, produced a composed run in Heat 4, finishing behind Oman’s Malham Al Balushi, who won in 10.29 seconds. His qualification adds to a breakthrough season in which he set the Indian 100m national record of 10.09 seconds at the Federation Cup in May. Kujur, who holds a personal best of 10.14 seconds, is India’s second-fastest 100m runner. Gurindervir Singh of India clocks 10.38s to qualify for the men’s 100m semifinals at the Asian Games.Top 3:Al Balushi (Oman) — 10.29sGurindervir Singh (India) — 10.38sTaftian Hassan (Iran) — 10.46sCourtesy: SONYLiv#AsianGames2026 #GurindervirSingh #IndianAthletics pic.twitter.com/Jj07nfaZeb— nnis Sports|Asian GamesAthletics (@nnis_sports) September 24, 2026

Seema delivered India’s first athletics medal of the day by winning bronze in the women’s 10,000m final. India then added silver in the mixed 4x400m relay, with the quartet clocking 3:14.46. Bahrain won gold in 3:12.87, while Vietnam finished third in 3:14.54.

The silver came after India had finished second in its qualifying heat and extended the country’s run of podium finishes in the mixed relay at the Asian Games. India won gold in Jakarta in 2018 before taking silver in Hangzhou in 2023 and adding another silver in Nagoya. This time, India edged Vietnam by just 0.08 seconds, with the two teams separated by a remarkably narrow margin at the finish. AFTER 16 LONG YEARS, INDIA HAS WON A MEDAL IN THE 10,000 MSeema has done the country proud by winning the bronze. She kept a steady pace throughout, did not get fazed by the legendary Yavi. 32.50.05 - seema's timingVideo courtesy: Sonyliv#bronzeforindia #asiangames2026 pic.twitter.com/2bMxaJDb2c— nnis Sports|Asian GamesAthletics (@nnis_sports) September 24, 2026OTHER ATHLETICS EVENTS ON THE DAY

Asha Ilango finished fourth in the women’s triple jump final with a best effort of 13.83m, narrowly missing out on a podium place. She was tied on distance with China’s Yi Li but lost out on countback. Asha needed to better Li’s mark of 13.79m with her final attempt to move ahead of her Chinese rival, but could manage only 13.59m.

Niharika Vashisht finished 10th in the same event. In the heptathlon, Pooja finished fourth in the shot put with a best effort of 11.44m, while Anamika Aneesh was eighth with 11.15m. The duo then endured a difficult outing in the 200m, with Anamika clocking 25.96 seconds and Pooja finishing in 26.27 seconds.ASIAN GAMES ATHLETICS RESULTS ON SEPTEMBER 24India won silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.Seema won bronze in the women’s 10,000m final.Animesh Kujur finished third in Heat 1 of the men’s 100m in 10.36 seconds and qualified for the semifinal.Gurindervir Singh finished second in Heat 4 in 10.38 seconds and qualified for the semifinal.Asha Ilango finished fourth and Niharika Vashisht 10th in the women’s triple jump final.Anamika Aneesh and Pooja finished seventh and ninth respectively in the heptathlon after Day 1.After the high jump, Anamika was sixth with 1,771 points and Pooja ninth with 1,761. Anamika cleared 1.74m, while Pooja managed 1.71m.After the 100m hurdles, Anamika was 10th with 868 points and Pooja eighth with 894.- Ends