THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

It is one of the ironies of life that the once fastest man in India can now barely jog 10 metres. But P. Anil Kumar, who held national records in 100m (10.21s unratified) and 200m (20.73s) at the start of the millennium, has taken it in his stride. However, he is disappointed that he was never given his due for his achievements..

The 51-year-old Anil Kumar, who is now settled in the UK, is happy that 100m is making headlines again in India.

“Though I am settled in the UK, I follow Indian athletics and I was happy when Gurindervir Singh broke the 10.10 barrier in 100m. I had always believed that Indians had the ability to clock under 10 seconds and it should have happened 10 years ago. I think it is a rare good phase in Indian sprinting when you have four good runners pushing each other. Gurindervir definitely has gained from his rivalry with Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain. Their rivalry has pushed the mark from 10.20 to under 10.10 in just five years and the future looks very promising,’’ said the former Olympian.

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Anil Kumar who ran with pawing action said the style took a heavy toll on his right knee and he had to undergo surgery to mend it.

“I never had any serious injury in my career. Obviously, there was wear and tear and it snapped while I was playing basketball with my trainees at SAI Kollam a few years ago. I had to undergo surgery to mend it. But now I can’t jog for even 10 metres. Well Injuries are part of an athlete’s life. I am okay with it. However, it gives me a lot of pain when no one remembers that I broke Milkha Singh’s long-standing record in 200m,’’ he said.

The former Olympian said he lacked competition domestically and often raced against the clock. His 100m national record of 10.21s was never ratified due to absence of a doping test.

Anil Kumar believes he could have gone under 10 seconds with better training support.

“I knew I had it in me to go under 10 seconds in 100m. But I needed specialised training. I trained in Russia for two months before I set the 200m national record and it helped me. My request to train in the US for two years wasn’t given approval by the Army and the federation wasn’t keen either. It still remains my biggest disappointment, Apart from my national records I consider the silver medal in the 100m sprint in the Jakarta Asian athletics championships in 2000 as my proudest moment,” he said.

Published on Jun 04, 2026