New Delhi: It may not have been a hattrick of the gleaming medal kind. But Gulveer Singh’s treble at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was of the grittiest kind. Amid India’s subdued track and field performances — his two silver and a bronze were the only medals by Indian men on the track this time — he showed it wasn’t just talent or calibre, it was also about not giving up.
On Tuesday, as Gulveer lined up for the 5,000m final — his fourth race in five days — there was a lingering concern whether India’s top distance runner will have the legs to last the distance. After all, he saved the blushes for the middle-distance specialists by nailing the 1,500m silver barely 24 hours earlier, that too with a personal best, a creditable 3 min, 36.72 secs.
In the end, it was a bronze medal, after silver in 10,000m and 1500m. As versatile as it comes. While PT Usha’s five medals at the 1986 Seoul Asiad (4 gold) are India’s individual best in athletics in one edition, Gulveer has matched the three medals sprinter Lavy Pinto collected at the 1951 New Delhi Games.
Gritting his teeth, as he kept pace with the small lead bunch in steady drizzle at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on the final day of athletics competitions, Gulveer didn’t cause doubts if he would fade away. There were still three laps to go in the 5,000m final and the man who has been a picture of tirelessness was soldiering on.
Inclement weather didn’t deter the 28-year-old Armyman from Aligarh at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where the national record holder in 10,000m and 5,000m took silver and bronze respectively to underline his development to tackle the tactical challenges of competing in a Games. There wasn’t a huge turnaround before the Asian Games, but he has been ready.
The Asian Games hasn’t been easy despite the smaller fields. On Tuesday, the 5,000m had a bigger field but only six were bunched after the first few laps. But there were two or three with a sharper finish. On Monday, his superb 1,500m silver came after India’s specialist pick for the distance, Yoonus Shah, didn’t show any fight to end up ninth (3:43.88). Gulveer’s strong finish and the joyous spreading of arms showed how much of a success that silver was for him.
The 10,000m silver first up could have been gold but for the awesome sprint finish of Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew, the runner of Ethiopian origin. On Tuesday, Balew could not be denied the double. Although Japan’s Tomonori Yamaguchi set off with 600m left to blunt that late finish, the adopted Bahraini had plenty in reserve. Balew clocked 13:30.79 in the slow race with Yamaguchi second at 13:31.43.
Gulveer, clocked 13:32.75, pedestrian for a man whose national record is 12:59.77, but the race had been more about tactical jockeying in the rain than about speed. He also had to come through a mini battle into the final bend with Nagiya Mori, and like he did to the Japanese in the 1,500m, he again edged him out for the bronze, braving the heaviness that would surely have set in his legs due to the workload.
Despite no gold, Gulveer can be pleased with his effort, and the depth he honed in the altitude of Colarado Springs, USA. He has improved leaps and bounds after a lone 10,000m bronze at 2023 Hangzhou to emerge India’s finest distance runner of this century since 2023 Hangzhou.
It is Gulveer’s fourth Asian Games medal. The gold is missing, but if one keeps aside the sensational 5,000m-10,000m double of the late distance master of the continent, Hari Chand, at the 1978 Bangkok Asiad, Gulveer can be counted alongside the few Indians who have shone in the two distance events since then, including Avinash Sable (5,000m silver, 3,000m steeplechase gold in 2023 Hangzhou).
“Winning this bronze feels good. I don’t keep track of records, I just try to give my best every time I run…I have been away from my family and this medal is for them,” Gulveer signed off, now ready to relax and see the sights in Japan.
