4 min readBhubaneswarJun 24, 2026 12:06 AM IST
First published on: Jun 23, 2026 at 10:13 PM IST
“I want to be the fastest man in India again, that’s the target,” ace sprinter Animesh Kujur quipped in the pre-event press conference of the National Inter State Athletics Championships. “The target is to book my berth for the Asian Games,” he said after returning from the Asian Relays Championships in Shaoxing, China.
Animesh set a new 100 metre record minutes after Gurindervir Singh lowered the mark at the Federation Cup in Ranchi last month, but the latter came back strongly to win the final to become the first Indian to clock a sub 10.10-second time – 10.09S.
Kicking off tomorrow, the inter-state championships will be the selection trial for the Asian Games. Most of the top stars are here, barring a select few like Neeraj Chopra and decathlon specialist Tejaswin Shankar,
Animesh will need to run below 20.88S to qualify, something that he has done four times already this season. “This is my home turf and I am confident that I’ll achieve the qualification here,” he said.
Eye on history
Eye on history
In the past 40 years since the 1986 Seoul Games, no Indian pole vaulter has competed at the continental showpiece event. However, Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar, joint national record holders in the event, might be on the cusp of history.
“With the 5.45-metre mark already achieved at the Federation Cup, we know that history is not far from us,” coach Ghansham Yadav, who trains both Dev and Kuldeep, told The Indian Express.
The duo has improved the national record three times this year. At the Federation Cup in Ranchi last month, first Dev vaulted 5.42metres to break the national record. Minutes later, Kuldeep vaulted 5.45m and Dev equalled it in the next attempt to become the joint holders. In March, Dev had set the record to 5.40m.
The qualification mark set by Athletics Federation of India for pole vault is 5.45m. “I know the selectors will look at the consistency and these boys are showing that. In practice, they are constantly clearing the 5.40m mark. Our target is to jump more, so that there is no room for doubt,” Ghanshyam added.
Dev and Kuldeep have been named in the Commonwealth Games 2026 squad and will be the first Indian vaulters to compete at the event.
Jyothi returns
Jyothi Yarraji, 100m women’s hurdles national record holder, is making a comeback after one year. Last year in June, Jyothi suffered an ACL injury, which ruled her out of the 2025 World Championships and also for the season.
She will aim to book her berth for the Asian Games in the event in which the qualifying mark is set at 13.34s. “I can tell you that she is in good shape. She is coming from a long injury, so we have to manage the expectations but the idea is to qualify for the Asian Games,” coach James Hillier, who trains Jyothi, told The Indian Express.
Jyothi is the only Indian women hurdler to go below the 13-second mark in the 100m hurdles and holds the national record of 12.78s.
Gulveer in fray
One of the best middle-distance runners in Asia, Gulveer Singh will be competing in India after a gap of two years. He is entered for the 1500 metres and 5000m.
In 2026, he competed seven times and all of that was in the US. He became the first Indian to run a half marathon in less than one hour at the NYC half marathon with 59:42 and also improved the outdoor 5000m mark with 13:03.93 at the LA track festival.
“It feels good to be back. I want to qualify for the Asian Games for now. I won’t be pushing myself much as we have Commonwealth Games lined up but overall the idea is to get an Asian Games ticket,” Gulveer said while interacting with the media.
Apart from Gulveer, Sarvesh Anil Kushare in high jump along with long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar, Lokesh Satyanathan, David P, and Shahnavaz will be the athletes to look out for.
A total of 637 athletes from 26 states will be participating in the five-day event.
Day 1 Finals
Men’s 5000m: 5:30 am
Men’s pole vault: 5:30 pm
Women’s 5000m: 07:20 pm
Women’s 100m hurdles: 07:55 pm
Animesh Kujur after finishing first in the mens 200m sprint event at the World Athletics Continental Tour competition, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha in 2025. (Express Photo by Pritish Raj) 
Share
