Dinesh Kumar from Coimbatore shattered the national record in the 100m sprint, clocking 9.98 seconds at the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok to claim gold — the first Indian to go sub-10 in the event.
The 22-year-old, who trains at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu facility in Coimbatore, burst out of the blocks and led from gun to tape.
Chief Minister MK Stalin congratulated Dinesh and announced a ₹50 lakh cash prize along with a Tamil Nadu government job.
"Dinesh Kumar has put Tamil Nadu and India on the global sprint map," said Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla.