Indian sprinter Muhammad Anas broke his own 400m national record at the Cena Noveho Mesta nad Metuji event on Sunday.
The 23-year-old achieved the feat while winning gold with a time of 45.24 seconds in the tournament.
The earlier national record of 45.31 seconds was made by the sprinter during the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Queensland.
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille J. Sumariwalla tweeted a congratulatory message on the occasion and gave credit to the support staff as well.
Meanwhile, in women’s event, Machettira Raju Poovamma won gold for India in the 400m race with a timing of 53.01 seconds..
Late Gautam Thakkar (1965) and Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu (2012) had won the prestigious title earlier. Sindhu had won a bronze as well in 2011, while Sameer Verma won a silver and bronze in 2011 and 2012 and the pair Pranav Chopra/Prajkta Sawant bagged a bronze in 2009.
Lakshya has been sensational in the tournament as he stunned second seed Chinese Li Shifeng, fourth seed Indonesian Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay in the semifinals and top seed Vitidsarn in the final.
“It was very hectic. In fact, ahead of the tournament I had to tweak my training a bit as I had suffered a shin split. During the tournament also I had to take pills sometimes to curb the pain,” he said.
“Overall, it was a good tournament. I have played all these top player before, so I knew there game.”
India’s junior national coach Sanjay Mishra also showered praise on Lakshya.
“Winning any tournament is a big thing and he has clinched the gold in a tournament where the best of world compete. We know Asia is the hub of badminton and winning the Asia title will give him a big boost,” he said.
“The Thai player was playing more of a rally game and he was getting points, so we decided to change the strategy and finish it quick. It helped as Lakshya started dominating the proceedings,” he concluded.
