India, May 31 -- When it comes to men's sprinting at Asian level, success for Indians has been few and far between. On Saturday, Animesh Kujur demonstrated his talent clocking an impressive 20.32 seconds to finish third in the 200 metres at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. Kujur eclipsed the national record a second time in just over a month, having clocked 20.40 seconds at the National Federation Senior Athletics Championships in Kochi. For once, it was the effort more than his bronze finish that stood out.

Kujur's first major international medal also underscores the recent rapid strides Indian sprinters have made. Gurindervir Singh broke the 100m national record in March (10.20 secs) while the 4x100m relay quarte...