Two days, two National Records: RF athletes Gurindervir, Gulveer raise the bar with eye-catching performances

Gurindervir Singh: The fastest Indian
At the season’s opening Indian Grand Prix , Gurindervir clocked a blistering 10.2 seconds in the men’s 100m, obliterating his RF mate, Manikanta H Hoblidhar’s mark of 10.22 seconds, set in 2023. Incidentally, Hoblidhar finished second, with another RF man, Amlan Borgohain, completing the podium.

Gurindervir has always been in the reckoning in the men’s dash in India. While his previous best of 10.27 seconds came way back in 2021, it wasn’t until recently that the 24-year-old came to his own. His journey has included a bout with a digestive issue (the mucous lining of his stomach weakened and thinned out, leaving him unable to absorb nutrition properly) that saw his lose the entirety of 2022, and then a few years recovering to find his form.

Though the RF man made a statement by winning both the Federation Cup and the Inter-State Championships in 2024, he believes it’s the timely intervention from the Reliance Foundation that’s helped him push the limits. “This is the result of the facilities I’ve got here (at the Reliance Foundation),” he told ESPN India in a recent interview. “The nutrition, the physiotherapy, the masseurs, the right pattern of training... abhi training ka results aana baaki hain [the results of the training are yet to come].”

No stopping Gulveer Singh

On the same weekend, our long-distance star, Gulveer Singh, too set a new benchmark in the 10,000m at the Ten 2025 Athletics meet in San Juan Capistrano, USA. Finishing in 27:00.02, Gulveer shattered his previous national best of 27:14.88, landing sixth in a highly competitive race.

This performance not only meets the qualifying standard for the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi, South Korea, but also makes him the third fastest Asian ever over the distance. However, he missed the automatic entry for the 2025 World Athletics Championships by just 0.22 seconds.

Gulveer Singh has broken six National Records over the past year. En route this new record, he improved his personal best by 40s over the past year which is a remarkable achievement in itself. Right now, the RF athlete holds the record simultaneously for 10,000m, 5,000m, and 3,000m.

Gurindervir and Gulveer Singh latest achievements mark a significant stride forward for Indian athletics in an important year. With the Asian Athletics Championships and the World Athletics Championships around the corner, their progress serves as motivation for athletes as India will look to make a mark at the global stage.