Ayush Kunwar Breaks 30-Year-Old National Record in 200 Metres

Dragon Media Correspondent

Nepali sprinter Ayush Kunwar, who is associated with Shivam Cement, has made history in Nepali athletics by breaking a three-decade-old national record in the men’s 200 metres.

Kunwar clocked 21.87 seconds in the 200 metres at the Grand Sprint Series held in Norwalk, California, on July 11. The performance surpassed the previous national record of 21.92 seconds set by Ram Krishna Chaudhary in 1995.

Kunwar later produced an even faster performance at the Stratford Speed GP4, held at the London Marathon Community Track in London on August 9, finishing first in 21.66 seconds. However, the race was run with a tailwind exceeding the permissible limit, meaning the 21.66-second performance cannot be ratified as an official national record.

Kunwar had previously established a national record in the men’s indoor 60 metres. In February 2024, he clocked 7.02 seconds at a competition in Spokane, United States, breaking the previous record of 7.09 seconds that had stood since 2001.

After struggling with a hamstring injury during the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, Kunwar returned to training and continued to improve his sprint performances.

Following his record-breaking run, Kunwar said he was proud to have broken a national mark that had stood for three decades. He said Nepali athletes possess considerable potential but often lack sufficient competitive exposure, structured training opportunities and access to international events.

According to Kunwar, the long-standing nature of the previous record partly reflected the limited opportunities available to successive generations of Nepali sprinters. He expressed confidence that the new benchmark would encourage emerging athletes to aim higher and eventually improve upon it.

Kunwar also said preparations were underway to launch a private initiative called the “Sprint Project” in cooperation with Shivam Cement, with the objective of identifying and developing a new generation of sprint athletes in Nepal.

Shivam Cement, which has been supporting Kunwar since 2023 as part of its commitment to promoting Nepali sports, congratulated him on the achievement and reaffirmed its intention to support athletes seeking to compete at the international level.

The company has also said it plans to support Kunwar’s training partner and fellow Nepali athlete Shivraj Parki in his preparations for the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships to be held in the United States in 2027.