Indian Athletes Shine Globally: Nayana James and Animesh Kujur Strike Gold

Indian athletes Nayana James and Animesh Kujur clinched gold medals in international events, showcasing their athletic prowess. Nayana won the women's long jump at the Taiwan Athletics Open, while Animesh triumphed in the men's 200m race in Spain. Additionally, Tejas Shirse and Eldhose Paul also achieved notable performances in their respective events.

Top Indian long jumper Nayana James delivered an impressive performance by winning the gold medal at the Taiwan Athletics Open with a leap of 6.43m in Taipei on Sunday. Battling rainy conditions, the 28-year-old achieved her best jump in her third attempt at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level event. This achievement marks her best performance outside India, with her personal best standing at 6.67m, recorded at the Indian Open Jumps competition in March. She also claimed gold at the Federation Cup last month with a jump of 6.53m.

Meanwhile, emerging Indian sprinter Animesh Kujur secured gold in the men’s 200m race at the Trofeo de Atletismo Ciudad de Salamanca-Memorial Carlos Gil Perez athletics meet in Spain. Animesh clocked 20.59 seconds to win the race, despite the wind speed of +4.9 m/s at the Helmantico Stadium in Salamanca on Saturday exceeding the legal limit. His previous personal best was 20.62 seconds, achieved while winning gold at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar earlier this month. Spain’s Daniel Rodriguez Serrano and Mauro Triana López finished second and third, respectively, with times of 20.85 seconds and 21.27 seconds. The men's 200m national record of 20.52 seconds, held by Amlan Borgohain, remains unbeaten. The Paris Olympics qualification time stands at 20.16 seconds.

Animesh also ran a personal best of 10.27 seconds in the men's 100m race, finishing fourth, narrowly missing the national record set by Manikanta Hoblidhar last year. Additionally, national record holder in the 110m hurdles, Tejas Shirse, clocked 13.57 seconds to finish second at the World Athletics Category F meet in Salamanca, Spain. Shirse previously set the men’s 110m hurdles national record of 13.41 seconds at a World Athletics Continental Tour meeting in Finland.

In another international competition, the Limoges National Meeting in France witnessed Commonwealth Games triple jump gold medallist Eldhose Paul winning with a jump of 16.24m, while Jesse Sandesh claimed the high jump title with a leap of 2.18m.