World University Games: Animesh Kujur, Indian mixed 4x400 relay team finish fourth

Indian ace sprinter and national record holder Animesh Kujur missed out on his maiden World University Games after finishing fourth in the men's 200m event in Bochum, Germany, on Thursday.

This was India's second fourth-place finish of the evening as the Indian mixed 4*400m relay team of Jerome Sanjay, Devyaniba Zala, Vishal TK, and Rupal also had a heartbreaking finish just outside medal position.

Animesh's mistake costs him a medal

In the 200m final, the medal favourite Animesh clocked a modest time of 20.85s and fell short of a podium finish by 0.10 seconds against South Korea's Lee Jaeseong.

Animesh's heartbreak might come from his semi-final misstep, where he failed to secure a direct spot in the final, forcing him to depend on the fastest non-automatic qualifier position, resulting in an unfavorable lane 1 position for the final.

Animsh had the fastest personal best in his semi-final heat and was in good position to earn a direct spot in the final, but he slowed down at the finishing line and eventually finished third by a bare 0.004s.

On the other hand, the Indian mixed relay team also faced a 4th place finish with a time of 3:18.40s because of a sub-par opening leg from Jerome Sanjay in the final.

India was no way near the top 4 after the first leg, but then slowly the team moved within the podium range thanks to the brilliant runs from Indian senior relay team members, Vishal TK and Rupal.

However, it was not enough for the side, and the Indian team finished fourth behind Poland, South Africa, and the USA.

In the other two athletics finals of the day, Chanda (800m) and Samardeep Singh Gill (Shot Put) finished in 8th and 6th positions, respectively.