23-year-old Amlan Borgohain, hailing from Meleng village in Assam’s Jorhat district has become India’s fastest man by running 100 metres in 10.25 seconds at the All India Inter Railways Athletics Championships in Raebareli.
The 24-year-old beat Amiya Mallick’s national record time for the 100-meter event (10.26 seconds), which he had set in 2016. 10.34 seconds, recorded last year, was Borgohain’s previous best time.
He set a new national record for the men’s 200 metres earlier this year at the Federation Cup with a time of 20.52 seconds.
“My mom asked me to either switch to a different sport or quit entirely. Playing football wasn’t an option anymore. It was a tough decision to make,” Amlan had told last year. But looking back, it is clear that young Borgohain picked the right sport.
Wanted to play football with Ronaldo, Chhetri
A huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, Amlan has always wanted to play alongside the star player who is one of Manchester United’s top scorers. And when injuries prevented that, Amlan took inspiration from both Ronaldo and former India captain Sunil Chhetri to tackle physical fitness, which is an absolute must for any athlete.
Spotted by James Hiller
While he was in school, Amlan was spotted by James Hiller, the head coach at Reliance Foundation’s Odisha Athletics High-Performance Centre at Bhubaneswar. Hiller first noted Amlan’s potential and things changed completely for the boy from there on.
Hiller is impressed with the way Amlan has worked on his physique and can give him full credit for the hard work. “Amlan arrived with a 13 per cent body fat and now it’s seven,” Hillier pointed out. “His muscle mass has also increased. There are no specific areas but I would say we will work on every aspect. I will not give you a number as to how much he can improve because that is limiting his potential,” the Welsh coach added.
“I have to be like Goku”
Amlan is also a fan of the anime Dragon Ball Z and draws inspiration from Goku who defends the earth from aliens. “Goku is someone who keeps improving himself when he fights until he finally achieves Ultra. I felt I have to be like Goku,” Borgohain recently told television reporters.
“So, I have to step out on the field and be a brave guy.”
Amlan is now aiming for international events, and like his idol, Goku is all set to conquer the world.
