Asian Athletics Championships: Gulveer Singh's last-lap surge gets India opening gold

Time of India

28-05-2025

File photo of Gulveer Singh.
Armyman Gulveer Singh won the gold medal in men's 10,000m in challenging conditions on the first day of the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. The hot and humid weather did not deter the Hangzhou Asian Games medallist from achieving this victory on Tuesday.
By winning his first gold in a continental meet, Gulveer joined the elite company of Hari Chand (1975) and G Lakshmanan (2017) as the third Indian to clinch top honours in the men's 10,000m at this level.
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The 26-year-old from Western UP's Atrauli district completed the 25-lap event in 28:38.63s, a little way off his personal best of 27:00.22s set in March. He, however, failed to automatically qualify for the World Athletics (Tokyo, Sep 13–21).
The automatic qualification mark was 27:00.00s. Gulveer had narrowly missed the timing at 'The Ten 2025' athletics meet in California where he had recorded his personal best.
Athletes can qualify for the Worlds through the global ranking system too, and the gold in Gumi will significantly improve Gulveer's ranking. He has already qualified for the Worlds in the men's 5,000m event.
'The target was always to come first.
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I could have run faster but it was quite hot and humid during the race time. It was a challenging race. My coach had devised a strategy keeping the weather conditions in mind. I am happy that I successfully implemented it,' Gulveer told TOI from Gumi.
'The race was slower than expected but my focus was on securing a podium finish rather than targeting a specific time. I was confident about my sprint and I knew I could take the lead in the last lap.'
Prior to his 9th-place finish in the men's 5,000m on his Diamond League debut in Doha this month, Gulveer had been training at the Colorado Springs centre in the US. The significant contrast between the cool, windy conditions there and the heat in both Doha and Gumi influenced his performance.
Due to warm conditions, the local organising committee had installed a water station during the 10,000m track race. Gulveer said he conserved each ounce of energy for the last lap.
Racing alongside Bahrain's Albert Kibichi Rop, who finished with 28:46.82s for bronze, added an extra layer of challenge for Gulveer. Kibichi was leading the Indian before the last lap but the latter overtook his rival midway with a final burst. Japan's Mebuki Suzuki beat Rop for silver.
Sawan Barwal, the other Indian, finished fourth with a time of 28:50.53s. The men's 5,000m is scheduled for the last day (May 31) and all runners, including Gulveer, will get enough time to recover.
Race Walker Sebastian Gets Bronze
India's initial success of the day came through race walker Servin Sebastian, who earned a bronze medal in the men's 20km race walk in the morning session.
The 26-year-old Army athlete clocked 1:21:13.90, a personal best on his debut at the continental level.
'It was a good race. I am happy to be among the medal winners in my first race at the continental,' he said.
Sebastian has been consistent in his performance since the beginning of the 2025 season.
In February, he won 20km race walk gold at the Uttarakhand National Games with a time of 1:21:23. His second gold came at the Indian Open race walking competition in April in Chandigarh.
Amit, the second Indian race walker, finished fourth.
Annu Rani Finishes Fourth, Tejaswin on Top in Decathlon
Ace javelin thrower Annu Rani finished fourth with a throw of 58.30m. She had a series of 56.92m, no mark, 58.30m, 58.11m, 57.80m and no mark.
China's Su Lingdan won the gold with a throw of 63.29m, with Japan's Sae Takemoto (58.94m) securing silver.
National record holder decathlete Tejaswin Shankar was on top in the nine-man field after the completion of five events out of 10 on Tuesday.
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