Bhubaneswar: Odisha athlete Animesh Kujur is on a roll.
The 21-year-old Kujur, who holds the National record in both 100m and 200m, has become the first Indian male sprinter to qualify for the World Athletics Championships, to be held in Tokyo from September 13 to 21.
Kujur qualified for the 200m event at the Worlds through the World Rankings, which was released recently. Kujur is currently ranked 41st, with 1220 points.
A total of 48 athletes have qualified for the 200m event, with 31 sprinters making the cut by achieving the entry standard of 20.16-second mark this year, and 17 others being guaranteed a place through the world rankings.
Kujur was on Friday felicitated by Odisha Olympic Association (OOA) and Odisha Athletics Association (OAA) on the occasion of National Sports Day today.
OOA and OAA presented Kujur cheques for Rs 50,000 each to recognise his unique feat and encourage him to greater deeds.
The sports bodies assured continued support in Kujur’s sporting journey and expressed confidence that his participation at the World Championships will be a proud moment for Odisha and the entire nation.
Among other eminent personalities felicitated for their contribution to sports were Olympian Anuradha Biswal, Gitanjali Khuntia and Gayatree Mallick (ex-international footballers), Md Shahid Jabba (former Indian women’s team coach) and Dr Bibekananda Tripathy (veteran and international Marathon runner).