Asian Games bronze medalist athlete Gulveer Singh displayed exceptional prowess in the men’s 10,000m event at The Ten in San Juan Capistrano, California, setting a new national record that had stood for 16 years.
The 25-year-old Gulveer completed the race in a remarkable time of 27:41.81, surpassing the previous record held by Surendra Singh since 2008 by over 20 seconds. Despite his outstanding performance, Gulveer fell short of the Olympic qualification mark for the Paris Games, missing it by a significant margin of over 41 seconds.
Meanwhile, Kartik Kumar also demonstrated remarkable prowess by placing ninth with a time of 28:01.90, surpassing Surendra’s prior national record. However, Avinash Sable faced a setback as he did not finish his heat, withdrawing from the race during the 15th lap at the 6,000-metre mark.
In the women’s 10,000-metre event, Parul Chaudhary’s performance was below expectations, as she finished in 20th place with a time of 32:02.08. Parul, like her male counterparts, missed the Paris qualification standard of 30:40.00.
Despite the varied results that awaited the Indian athletes during The Ten, Gulveer Singh’s unprecedented achievement serves as an example of his ability and determination, thus highlighting the potential of India on the global athletics platform.
