India, Aug. 8 -- "Personal best, personal best, personal best. I'm constantly trying to outrun myself," says Animesh Kujur, grinning.

He's certainly outrun everyone else in India.

Over the past four months alone, the 22-year-old sprinter has reset the national 200m record twice, and reset the national 100m record too. He won bronze at the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea. Caused considerable excitement in July, when he became the first Indian sprinter to compete in the Diamond League, and came in fourth.

If he qualifies for the World Athletics Championships, to be held in Tokyo in September, he will be the first Indian to compete in the men's 100m and 200m sprints at this level (the only other Indian is Dutee Chand, who ran...