Siddhant wants to make the fast lane his own

young new delhi: These ar interesting times for amerind sprinters. O'er the past few months, a bunch of local talents, Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh in particular, have provided a rare spectacle of speed and explosive power with the 100m and 200m national records being bettered in quick succession.

While the focus has rightly been on Kujur and the exciting 4x100m men’s relay squad — Kujur, Singh, Manikanta Hoblidhar, and Amlan Borgohain reset the national mark (38.69s) this July — a minor but significant development went under the radar. Siddhant Kumar, an 18-year-old Indian student in the USA, clocked 10.36s in 100m and 46.85s in 400m in a space of three months to show early signs of what’s to come. Last year, Kumar ran an impressive personal best of 21.11s in 200m to underscore his potential across the half lap.

To offer some perspective, India’s current U-18 100m record stands at 10.55s and Kumar’s 10.36s was 0.01s shy of the current U-20 NR. His timings are recognised and ratified by US Track and Field but await ratification from World Athletics and Athletics Federation of India.

“It will be done in due course but right now, I am quite happy with my progress. I have improved every season which is a good sign,” Kumar said. Born in Mumbai, Kumar did his early schooling in Gurugram before moving to the US as a 10-year-old when his father, Senthilkumar Ramaraj, shifted his travel company there.

“I was running in the 50s in the 400m until two years back. Last year, I did a PB of 47.38s and went sub 47s this year. The grind of 400m is very satisfying,” said Kumar, who counts 100m and 400m among his favourites.

“I love the thrill of the 100,” he added. “I truly believe I can go sub 10s. It won’t be easy, but I am getting there,” he said. The current national record stands at 10.18s.

Helping him in his pursuit is his personal coach, former Jamaican sprinter Rushane Scott. “He is a tough taskmaster. He ran with Asafa Powell and has a PB of 10.01s, and he wants me to do better times than him,” Kumar said. Scott has already set next season’s target for the Indian -- 9.99s.

“Scott doesn’t believe Indians can’t go sub-10s in 100m, and neither do I.”

India’s recent surge in sprints has not gone unnoticed by Kumar who wants to test himself with India’s best. “I surely want to run alongside them. One of the reasons the US’ collegiate system works so well is the kind of competition we get here. In India, we finally seem to have a bunch that is constantly pushing each other. I would love to train and compete with them,” he said.

So far, Kumar’s plans to come to India and compete in domestic competitions have not materialised due to his school commitments but he is optimistic of making things work in near future. The larger goal, however, remains qualifying for the 2028 Olympics.

“I still have three years and with proper training and commitment, why not,” said Kumar, who begins his graduation in Business Studies in UCA next month.

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