Mohammed Afsal broke the national record in the men’s 800m at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. The 29-year-old ran 1 minute and 45.61 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 1:45.65 set by Jinson Johnson in 2018. Despite this extraordinary accomplishment, Afsal finished second in the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze-level competition at the Dubai Police Stadium, trailing Kenya’s Nicholas Kiplagat, who won in 1:45.38.
Although Afsal missed the automatic qualification threshold of 1:44.50 for the 2025 World Championships, his time represents significant improvement since his silver-winning 1:48.43 race at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
In addition, India won the men’s 200m event. Animesh Kujur, the national record holder, claimed gold in 20.45 seconds. His previous time of 20.40 seconds in the 2025 Federation Cup remains the national best. Amlan Borgohain, a former record holder, finished sixth with a timing of 21.08 seconds.
In the relay events, India’s men’s 4x100m team won in 38.76 seconds. However, the men’s 100m produced disappointing results, with Gurindervir Singh and Manikanta Hoblidhar finishing eighth and twelfth, respectively.
