Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Indian sprinting made new ground last year as the national records improved twice in the season. More importantly, Indians finally breached the 10.20-second mark.
To understand the importance, it took the nation 20 years to shave off 0.10 seconds since Anil Kumar Prakash clocked 10.30 in 2005.
Animesh Kujur hogged most of the limelight as he reset the national record at 10.18 seconds. Karnataka’s Manikanta Hoblidhar, meanwhile, slipped under the radar as the 24-year-old former national record holder clocked 10.19 seconds twice in the year. (His 10.19 in the Inter-Service Athletics Championships wasn’t registered officially as the event is not certified by the Athletics Federation of India).
Following the highs, Manikanta, who was India’s fastest sprinter for two seasons at 10.23 (2023-2024), has set his sight on the 100m national record once again, setting the bar high for himself. “It’s a crucial year with the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games coming up. Winning medals is not easy there and that’s why I am targetting 10.10 seconds for the season and be among the medallists at Asiad. Given my form last season, I am confident of achieving it since I had a strong 2025 season,” Manikanta told DH from Bhubaneswar.
AFI has also set the standard high to qualify for the Asian Games for sprinters as a new national record of 10.16 will be needed to directly qualify for the quadrennial event. For Manikanta, who is hopeful of getting a grant of Rs 10 lakh from the Karnataka government under its new Target Olympic Medal Scheme for the crucial year, the immediate attention is on the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships.
The event is slated in China’s Tianjin on February 6-8 and Manikanta is the sole Indian sprinter (for 60m flat) in the squad as the team is currently training in the preparatory camp at the Kalinga indoor athletics stadium.
All set for an indoor debut, Manikanta will be chasing the national record of 6.67 seconds (set by Elakiya Dasan in 2018 at the same event) and a strong show there on his indoor debut may set him up for the rest of the season. Starting the new season as early as February could also be an indication that the Indian army personnel is all set for another busy season after running 30-plus races across 100m, 4x100m relays and 200m.
Manikanta contradicts his coach, James Hillier, who often stresses the need to compete throughout the season, as the athlete wants to focus more on training and compete less to keep himself fresh for the big-ticket events.
“I don’t want to race too much in the season because if I do that, I may not get much time for training. I have nothing against running but it’s a crucial season and I will prefer to be in the best shape. However, I know my coach can decide better for me,” he concluded.