Anush Maharaj identifies 24 countries in 30 seconds for second world record

At 21, Fijian content creator Anush Maharaj is now a two-time Guinness World Record holder after identifying 24 countries within 30 seconds in Suva on August 23, 2026.

Mr Maharaj, popularly known on TikTok as “The Mystic”, said his motivation was to accomplish something significant for Fiji and create opportunities as a content creator.

“I am feeling really happy by breaking this record. It’s an honour,” Mr Maharaj said.

The achievement required several attempts after he struggled to pronounce some country names correctly, testing both his speed and accuracy under the 30-second time limit.

“When the attempt was done I felt really happy and joyful,” he said.

Mr Maharaj said his ability developed from childhood when he was fascinated by identifying items within seconds.

“I was fond of identifying items within seconds. I used to perform this when I was a small kid,” he said.

He dedicated his achievement to his former teachers, including his Year Eight teacher, Mr Nair, from Nagigi Primary School, and his Year 13 form managers, Mrs Singh and Mrs Goundar, from Labasa College.

His latest record was also driven by his experience after breaking his first world record last year as a content creator.

At the time, he had about 5000 followers on TikTok and expected the achievement to bring opportunities from people in Fiji, the Government and overseas.

However, he said those opportunities did not come.

“I was really disheartened because this was the first world record for the nation. No one ever did it,” he said.

His TikTok following has since increased to 16,700, which he said has given him a wider reach and strengthened his desire to pursue content creation professionally.

Mr Maharaj said having two world records was significant to him and he hoped the latest achievement would bring the opportunities he had been seeking.

He also spoke about criticism he has received following the achievement, saying he had seen racist and jealous comments online.

Mr Maharaj called on people to show support rather than hate and urged the media to help him gain greater exposure and opportunities.

He said he did not want the latest recognition to receive attention for only a few days before disappearing from public discussion.

“I want to leverage this. I want to put Fiji on a global scale and I want to go further from this,” he said.

Mr Maharaj hopes opportunities from Fiji and overseas will allow him to grow his career, expand his reach and use his achievements as a platform for future success.