Two years ago, Gurindervir Singh stamped his return to the top rung of sprinters in India by winning the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in the fading light at Panchkula.

It was only 10.32 seconds, but it brought him the spotlight and support needed to kick his almost stagnant career back into gear. In time, it led to him becoming the fastest Indian on the track, raising expectations of a historic sub-10 run in the most glamorous event in athletics.

Familiar situation

As the 25-year-old prepares for the upcoming Asian Games, the parallels between 2024 and now are hard to miss, even for the man himself.

Back then, Gurindervir was the meet record holder at the Nationals, but, in the three years since he had clocked 10.27s (Patiala, 2021), others had raced far ahead. Coupled with injuries, lack of sufficient nutrition and uncertainty over his sporting future, he had been forced to play catch-up.

Now, with the all-important continental meet looming large, Gurindervir is again battling the stopwatch on the track and questions and injuries off it.

The only Indian to go under 10.1s has had a torrid few months ever since the incredible two days in May when the national record switched hands thrice, Gurindervir eventually making it his own in 10.09s. He injured his hamstring, crashed out in the first round at the Commonwealth Games and finished a lowly seventh at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Bhubaneswar.

The big difference now, however, is the support he has access to. Picked up by the Reliance Foundation after the 2024 outing and working under the watchful eyes of its athletics director James Hillier at the high performance centre in Navi Mumbai, Gurindervir is already back to peak training ahead of his biggest outing of the year.

“He’s had a good couple of weeks of training. He’s getting back into good shape but he’s looking to get into peak 100m shape within the next two weeks. That’s what I’m hoping for,” Hillier said before getting into the details of Gurindervir’s technical strengths and weaknesses.

“CWG … there were certain elements of his race that were quite good from a coaching perspective. I’m very happy with the first 60-70 meters of his race. What we’ve been working on in the last few weeks is getting him to extrapolate that speed over the full 100m.

“We’ve been working pretty hard to get that last bit of the race sorted. I’ve put some specific training in place for that. We have a competition in Delhi on September 10 and that’s going to be a key competition. We’ll get to see exactly where he is, where the training is going and how well he finishes the race there, that’ll give us very good information,” Hillier explained.

The transformation

The man himself has gone from being an emotional and often-stressed youngster to a more confident and mature professional who is determined to take control of his life and his running, something Hillier also acknowledged. The transformation began in March last year, when he broke the national record for the first time with a 10.20s run at the Indian Grand Prix 1.

Gurindervir had been battling stomach ulcers that weakened his body and naysayers who tried to break his spirit. Both were spillovers from his time in obscurity before 2024 — when a poor diet and dirty water stripped away his gut lining. He could barely keep anything in and lost almost 15kgs in a fortnight even as people, known and unknown, sniggered that he was finished.

“If you had asked last year’s Gurindervir about handling the pressure, maybe he would have been in stress. That time too, all this happened with me — interviews, phone calls, questions, expectations. I was not sleeping at night,” he said.

“Back then, I couldn’t get out of it. I was thinking about what to say in the next interview when I should have been thinking about how to improve. When I ran in the Fed Cup [in 2025], I cramped and it stressed me even more because I had claimed I would do a lot in the interviews. That Gurindervir took pressure. This one has evolved, he has learnt from all this.”

A large part of the credit for that, he insisted, went to Hillier for keeping him away from a lot of negativity. “If it wasn’t for him, I would have been in a very bad, stressful situation. The coach motivated me a lot. He gave me the right guidance on how to deal with it.”

A lot of people had been critical of his inclusion for Glasgow, questioning his fitness, but Hillier has already clarified that the problem was not carrying an injury into competition but the lack of sufficient races before the CWG because of the injury. That issue has been addressed although the Continental Tour event highlighted the issues that continue to plague his race plan.

“At the Bhubaneswar event, you’ll see he was in a really good position at 60-70m and then sort of fell away, which I expected to happen based on what’s been happening in training. It’s just how he’s put together,” Hillier said.

“Many 100m athletes run the race in different ways. Guri is a very good accelerator and that’s just his natural strength. He won the national indoor 60m earlier in the year, broke the national record in that with a very fast time of 6.60s. Someone like an Animesh [Kujur] or an Amlan [Borgohain], these guys tend to finish strong, that’s their natural strength. We must train them to their strengths and then work alongside that to manage their weaknesses.”

Listening to his body

Gurindervir has also learnt to listen to his body. “I have worked on everything. What I eat and how much, how much I travel. If I am feeling any pain, how much effort do I have to put into the workout? If I am doing an endurance workout, how do I do it?

“In weight training, I have set levels I must achieve every month. It’s the same on track as well. I will train as much as my body needs. I discuss with the dietician how much food I need. I had some lack of mobility before, so sitting with the physio, knowing which muscles and joints I have to work on so that I can run better.”

The one thing that hasn’t changed, however, is Gurindervir’s conviction. The reason he was stressed, he explained, was because what he says matters to him.

“If I say something, it has to have meaning. Words are important for me. If I claim or promise something and I cannot do it, it affects me. That’s my nature. My father had a dream, I started running to fulfil that dream. People said Indians can’t be competitive in 100m, I was determined to do it. It will take some time, but it will definitely happen.”

Gurindervir Singh competes in the men’s 100m round 1 heat 4 athletics at the 23rd Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Even as cut-throat competition gives elite athletics meets an elevated status, tales of camaraderie pleasantly break the monotony by adding a human element to them.

Enduring visuals of Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi sharing the men’s high jump gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Belgian steeplechaser Tim Van de Velde sacrificing his own position to help Colombia’s Carlos San Martin finish the race at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, and Robson De Oliveira and Aaron Beggs carrying an exhausted Ajay Haridasse over the line at this year’s Boston Marathon evoked impromptu appreciation from spectators in recent times.

Tight contests, tight bonds

However, such instances are not restricted to international athletics alone. Top-level competitions in India have also seen fine examples of keen contests and close companionship. The recently held Federation meet at Birsa Munda Stadium, Morabadi, Ranchi, featured high-level performances as well as excellent displays of comradeship among athletes.

The close duel between female long jumpers Ancy Sojan and Shaili Singh, the intense rivalry between national record holder Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur in the men’s 100m, and the battle of one-upmanship between training partners and eventual joint national record holders Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar in the men’s pole vault do not necessarily mean they are bitter opponents off the field. Rather, they offer exceptional case studies of bonding between athletes.

For Ancy, who wholeheartedly cheered for her closest competitor Shaili in the background prior to the latter’s attempts, rivalry is not equivalent to enmity.

“I don’t consider my competitors as enemies. I just see them as friends. I always cheer for them. Because they are focused, they also try hard. So I wanted to motivate Shaili and help her do her best. That’s why I cheer for her. It is a good thing to cheer for your rivals,” says Ancy, who won the event.

Gurindervir is delighted that his mouthwatering showdowns on the track with Kujur, which are built on a strong foundation of brotherhood, bring eyeballs to athletics.

“I have been waiting for this for a long time. Our sport, sprinting, and athletics should get visibility. Every person enjoys watching a rivalry. When Animesh runs well, I feel that I have to run better. I have to do more hard training. When I run well, Animesh feels that he has to train even harder. We get motivation from each other,” says Gurindervir, who became the first Indian to go below 10.10 seconds when he won gold.

“We are good friends. We are room-mates. We are brothers. We are competitors. When we train, we are training partners. When we go out, we are friends.”

Gurindervir’s coach James Hillier feels such healthy competition — the national record changed hands twice in the semifinals before Gurindervir’s historic 10.09s run in the final — augurs well for sprinting in the country.

“It’s a great rivalry, and in a way it probably helped Gurindervir that Animesh broke the record [10.17] in the semifinals [clocking 10.15 within minutes of Gurindervir breaking Kujur’s previous record of 10.18]. It took a bit of the limelight off him and the pressure was sort of back on Animesh. It’s really bringing Indian sprinting down [in terms of time],” says Hillier.

Coming from the same stable, Madhya Pradesh Athletics Academy (MPAA), pole vaulters Meena and Kuldeep are brothers in arms. They train together under coach Ghanshyam Yadav, carry their poles and travel together while challenging each other to the best of their ability. Ultimately, the success one achieves makes the other happy, as they believe their teamwork will help them attain excellence. Coincidentally, the two were tied at 5.45m and shared the new national record at Ranchi.

“We will continue to fight with each other so that we can raise the level,” says Meena.

Kuldeep, who joined the MPAA a year ago, was welcomed by the already established Meena, as he saw that pushing the mark alone was a difficult task for him.

Victory through harmony

“We will do better in the future. It is a very technical sport. We are working on it. We are learning more and more with each passing day. If we learn and improve, it will be very good for both of us. We fight during our training. We fight during competitions. We support each other. We go ahead of each other. We are good friends. We should work to bring laurels for the country,” says Kuldeep.

While complementing each other, they have no hesitation in appreciating each other’s strengths.

“Dev’s technique is good. I think his competition mindset is good. I won’t say mine is bad either. I give him a good fight,” says Kuldeep.

“Kuldeep has a powerful body. I have got speed,” notes Meena.

Their coach Ghanshyam Yadav loves his two obedient trainees. “They are training together and competing with each other. Their communication with me is very good. If you say something to them, they will listen to you. They are training together and using the same pole,” says Yadav.

Acknowledging the media’s role in highlighting the plight of his wards while travelling with poles on a train in January and making their lives a little easier, Yadav dreams of guiding Meena and Kuldeep to greater glory and transforming pole vault into a well-known sport in India.

“We are trying to take the pole vault to a new height. Like Neeraj Chopra, who highlighted javelin by shining at the Olympics, we also want to take pole vault to that level,” says Yadav.

If the Federation meet was full of high-class performances and great camaraderie, it also had an aberration in the form of an undesirable feud between 40-year-old Olympian Sandeep Kumar and 18-year-old promising athlete Nitin Gupta in the men’s 10,000m racewalk.

After Gupta won the race comfortably, beating second-placed Sandeep, the two Army athletes, who train under different coaches, exchanged pleasantries and posed for photographs.

However, in a behind-the-scenes tussle for success, Sandeep filed a complaint against Gupta for receiving assistance from fellow competitors during the race. In the end, Gupta was disqualified for breaching World Athletics technical rules and Sandeep was crowned champion.

While different coaches present at the venue had varied opinions about the episode, it exposed intra-departmental competitiveness which not only created an unfriendly environment but also ended up being a disheartening experience for an emerging talent.

Of course, one can draw parallels to such incidents of bitter rivalry in international athletics over the decades, including Sebastian Coe versus Steve Ovett at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and Mary Decker versus Zola Budd at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Grace under pressure

No matter how much athletes push themselves to the limit and put their composure through stern tests, instances of companionship, a genuine emotion prevailing in humanity, will always outnumber examples of bitter competitiveness not only in track and field but also in sport at large.

As the 2026 calendar gears up for more intensity, with events such as the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games promising top-class action, one can only hope to see an atmosphere of fellowship in a world divided by conflicts.

Gurindervir Singh and Vishal T.K. smashed the men’s 100m and 400m National records respectively to set the track ablaze in the Federation athletics meet at the Birsa Munda Stadium (Morabadi) here on Saturday.

Tejaswin Shankar added more thrill to the historic evening by finishing his decathlon routine on a high and becoming the first Indian to score 8000-plus points while resetting the National record.

Gurindervir, who posted 10.17 while Animesh Kujur rewrote the National record with 10.15 in the semifinals a day ago, renewed the rivalry with a strong start and putting his rivals under pressure.

He thus became the first Indian to log a sub-10.10 time over the distance. Second-placed Kujur clocked 10.20.

Flashing a sheet of paper with ‘Time is 10.10. Not finished yet’ written on it, Gurindervir, who also qualified for the Commonwealth Games, said, “People say a lot on social media. This is for myself.”

In the 400m semifinals, Vishal (45.27) along with Rajesh Ramesh (45.40) and Jay Kumar (45.47) had gone below Arokia Rajiv’s 10-year-old meet record (45.47).

A day later, the lanky runner gave a confident performance to become the first Indian to record a sub-45 time (44.98) ahead of second-positioned Rajesh Ramesh (45.31). However, he missed the CWG qualifying mark (44.96) narrowly.

“Before the race I fixed my mind. I knew I could run 44, but didn’t tell anyone,” said Vishal.

Tejaswin’s 8057 was good enough to earn him a CWG ticket.

The results (finals): Men: 100m (CWG Q mark 10.16): 1. Gurindervir Singh (Rel) 10.09 (NR, Old 10.15, Animesh Kujur, 2026), 2. Kujur (Odi) 10.20, 3. Pranav Gurav (Rel) 10.29.

400m (CWG Q mark 44.96): 1. Vishal T.K. (TN) 44.98 (NR, Old 45.12, Vishal, 2025), 2. Rajesh Ramesh (TN) 45.31, 3. Jay Kumar (UP) 45.47.

1500m (CWG Q mark 3:30.82): 1. Sakir (Har) 3:45.01, 2. Ajay Kumar Saroj (UP) 3:45.96, 3. Sunil Dawar (MP) 3:46.42.

Decathlon (CWG Q mark 7787): 1. Tejaswin Shankar (Rel) 8057 (NR, Old 7947, Tejaswin, 2026), 2. Thowfeeq N. (NCOE Trivandrum) 7503, 3. Gokul K.R. (Navy) 7157.

Women: 100m (CWG Q mark 11.17): 1. Sudeshna Shivankar (Mah) 11.56s, 2. Giridharani Ravikumar (TN) 11.58, 3. Tamanna (Har) 11.62.

400m (CWG Q mark 51.36): 1. R. Vithya Ramraj (TN) 52.22, 2. Ansa Babu (AIP) 53.07, 3. Prachi (JSW) 53.26.

1500m (CWG Q mark 4:05.09): 1. Pooja (JSW) 4:11.34, 2. Ankita (Utk) 4:12.28, 3. Anju (Har) 4:21.26.

Triple jump (CWG Q mark 14.25m): 1. Niharika Vashisht (Pun) 13.64m (MR, Old 13.57m, Anisha K. Vijayan, 2006), 2. Bhairabi Roy (Rly) 13.28m, 3. Mallala Anusha (AP) 13.28m.

Shot put (CWG Q mark 17.62m): 1. Krishna Jayasankar (Rel) 17.35m, 2. Yogita (Har) 16.82m, 3. Shiksha (Rel) 16.61m.

Pole vault (CWG Q mark 4.45m): 1. Baranica Elangovan (TN) 4.10m (MR, Old 4.06m, Krishna Rachan, 2019), 2. Nitika Akare (MP) 4.10m, 3. Krishna Rachan (Rly) 3.90m.

Javelin (CWG Q mark 59.79m): 1. Shilpa Rani (Har) 56.46m, 2. Annu Rani (UP) 55.91m, 3. Rashmi K. (AP) 54.85m.

Published – May 23, 2026 09:54 pm IST

Ancy Sojan E of Navy won the women’s long jump gold in the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition 2026 at the Birsa Munda stadium in Ranchi on Friday, 22 May 2026.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR