Dubai, May 10 (H.S.): Asian Games silver medalist Mohammed Afsal set a new national record in the men’s 800-meter race at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix held in Dubai on Friday. Afsal completed the race in 1 minute 45.61 seconds, breaking the previous record of 1:45.65 seconds set by Jinson Johnson in 2018.
The 29-year-old Afsal achieved this feat at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze level event held at the Dubai Police Stadium. However, he finished behind Kenya’s Nicholas Kiplagat, who won the race in 1:45.38 seconds.
Did not meet qualification time for the World Championships
Although Afsal set a new national record, he was unable to surpass the automatic qualification time of 1:44.50 seconds for the 2025 World Championships. Earlier, he had won a silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, with a time of 1:48.43 seconds.
On the other hand, national record holder Animesh Kujur delivered an impressive performance in the 200-meter race, winning with a time of 20.45 seconds. Kujur had previously broken Amalan Borgohain’s three-year-old record (20.52 seconds) by clocking 20.40 seconds at the 2025 Federation Cup.
Borgohain finished in fifth place
In this competition, Borgohain placed fifth with a time of 21.08 seconds.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
