Nagoya, September 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India will have two sprinters in the men’s 100m semifinals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after Animesh Kujur and national record holder Gurindervir Singh progressed from their respective heats on Thursday.
Kujur finished third in Heat 1 in 10.36 seconds, while Gurindervir clocked 10.38 seconds to finish second in Heat 4. Both advanced automatically after securing top-three finishes in their heats.
Kujur appeared under pressure during the early stages of his race but produced a strong finish over the final 25 metres to move into the qualifying positions. Thailand’s Puripol Boonson won the heat in 9.95 seconds, with China’s Keli Zeng second in 10.22.
Malaysia’s Muhammad Subri finished fourth in 10.43 seconds, followed by North Korea’s Kum Ryom Jo, Maldives’ Ibadulla Adam and East Timor’s Mouzinho Belo.
Gurindervir made a solid start in Heat 4 and remained in contention throughout before finishing behind Oman’s Malham Al Balushi, who won in 10.29 seconds. Iran’s Hassan Taftian finished third in 10.46, while Hong Kong’s Ho Hin Cheung was fourth.
The qualifying format allowed the top three finishers from each heat to advance directly to the semifinals, with the next six fastest athletes also earning qualification.
The semifinals are scheduled for Friday, with both Indian sprinters set to compete for places in the medal-stage races of one of the Games’ marquee track events.
Boonson produced the fastest performance of the heats with his 9.95-second run, which missed the Asian Games record by 0.03 seconds.
FOLLOW NOW
