The hype and hoopla surrounding the participation of Animesh Kujur in the World Athletics Championships proved to be a damp squib as the Indian 200m sprinter came a cropper, finishing a disappointing ninth and last in his heat, clocking 20.77 seconds in Tokyo today. The time was far below his personal best (PB) of 20.32 seconds.

There were 51 competitors in the fray for the mens 200m event. Competition started with heats and the first three athletes from each of the six heats and the next six fastest qualified for the semifinals. Placed in Heat-3, Animesh finished ninth and last, while Kenny Bednarek (US) secured the first position with a time of 19.98 seconds.

Notwithstanding the disappointing performance, 22-year-old Kujur, who belongs to Chhattisgarh, but represents Odisha in National championships as a star trainee of Bhubaneswar-based Reliance Foundation Athletics HPC and a student of KIIT University, achieved a personal landmark as he became the first-ever Indian male sprinter to represent India in the World Athletics Championships.

An employee of Chhattisgarh Forest Department, Kujur is the current National record holder in both 100m and 200m sprints. He also has the reputation of winning the 200m bronze medal at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championship and 4x100m relay bronze at the 2025 World University Games.

The Odisha Government spent huge amounts to promote Kujur, helping him to train abroad and participate in open international competitions. Apart from felicitating Kujur with cash awards every time he won a national or international medal, the Odisha Government even honoured him with the state’s best sportsperson of the year award, in contravention to the guideline that required an athlete to be a permanent resident of Odisha or stay in the State for at least seven years to be eligible for the award.