India's Animesh Kujur made a noteworthy appearance at the Monaco Diamond League 2025, finishing fourth in the Under-23 200m event. The 22-year-old sprinter clocked a time of 20.55 seconds in a high-quality field.
The race was won by Australia's Gout Gout, who finished with a time of 20.10 seconds. Botswana's Collen Kebinatshipi came in second at 20.28 seconds, and South Africa's Naeem Jack finished third with a time of 20.42 seconds.
Kujur, who hails from a tribal village in Chhattisgarh, has been in impressive form recently. Earlier in July, Kujur set a national record in the men's 100m with a time of 10.18 seconds at the Dromia International Sprint & Relays Meeting in Greece, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event. He became the first Indian to go below the 10.20s mark in the event. Kujur also holds the national record for men's 200m, with a time of 20.32 seconds.
Kujur's participation in the Monaco Diamond League marks a significant milestone, as he is the first Indian sprinter to compete in a Diamond League meet. He was inspired by sprint legend Usain Bolt. Kujur met Olympic stars like Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo at the event. "I used to see them on Instagram only, not in reality," Kujur told AFP. "They said, 'Yeah, bro, come and let's take a photo.' I felt like, oh wow, that I am on a bigger stage now. I have to act like a pro athlete".
Kujur credited his recent progress to a two-week training camp in Switzerland with coach Martin Owens and bobsleigh performance coach Chris Woolley. "Because of that, my time improved so much," he said. "Whenever I compete with faster athletes, my times improve". Owens, head coach at the Reliance Foundation's High Performance Centre in Odisha, called it a "massive step up" for Kujur. "They don't want to be the best in India, they want to be competing on a world stage," he said.
While Kujur's U23 200m race was not a Diamond League event, it provided him with an opportunity to compete against top international athletes such as Gout Gout. Kujur is aiming to qualify for the World Championships with a time of 20.16s. "What I'm feeling now is I'm going to crack that time," he said.
The Monaco Diamond League 2025 took place on July 11 at the Stade Louis II stadium in France, Monaco. The event was live-streamed on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel.
