In the span of just 24 hours, two athletes shattered the Indian men’s 100m national record three times between themselves. But in the end, it was Gurindervir Singh who ventured into uncharted territory.
For the first time ever, an Indian has run the 100m in under 10.1 seconds.
When Gurindervir stormed past the finish line on Saturday at the Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium, the clock stopped at a breathtaking 10.09 seconds.
Animesh Kujur, representing Odisha, had arrived at the National Senior Federation Competition as the overwhelming favourite in the men’s 100m after setting the national record of 10.18 seconds last year.
But on the opening day of the meet on Friday, Gurindervir stunned the field by lowering the mark to 10.17 seconds in the first semifinal heat. Barely five minutes later, Animesh responded dramatically in the second semifinal, reclaiming the national record with a sensational 10.15-second run.
A day later, Punjab athlete Gurindervir, representing Reliance Foundation, had the last laugh as he clocked 10.09 seconds. Animesh finished second, finishing 0.11 seconds behind him. Pranav Gurav, also of Reliance Foundation, was third with a time of 10.29 seconds.
Gurindervir breached the 2026 Commonwealth Games qualifying time of 10.16 seconds set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). His time of 10.09 seconds is the second fastest time by an Asian so far this season, behind 10.08 seconds clocked by 19-year-old Japanese sprinter Fukuto Komuro in May.
In a space of 30 minutes, the crowd witnessed another national record being broken as Vishal TK became the first Indian to run 400m below 45 seconds.
The 22-year-old Vishal, representing Tamil Nadu, has been one of the most talked about Indian athletes after he smashed the men’s 400m national record with his 45.12 seconds effort in Chennai last year.
On Saturday, he cemented his status with a stunning run of 44.98 seconds to become the first Indian to clock sub 45 seconds.
In the process, he went past the 2026 Commonwealth Games qualifying time of 44.96 seconds set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Also, his 44.98 seconds topped the Asian top list, going ahead of Ammar Ismail Ibrahim who clocked 45.16 seconds in April.
Another Tamil Nadu athlete, Rajesh Ramesh clocked 45.31 seconds to finish second while Jay Kumar of Uttar Pradesh was third with 45.47 seconds.
(with PTI inputs)
