Latest news with #Gurindervir
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Not a sprint: The ‘mental block' of chasing the sub-10 mark
Mumbai:For 11 years running, Paris Olympics relay silver-medallist Akani Simbine, who anchored South Africa to the men's 4x100m World Relays gold on Sunday and carries the world-leading 100m time this year, has gone under 10 seconds in 100m. It earned him the nickname of 'sub-10 king', and a record stretch that moved him past Usain Bolt (10 years). Yet, before the 31-year-old could make the magical mark of the sprint world almost routine, he took a while to reach that threshold. For five seasons from 2010, Simbine hovered around the mid- and low- 10s, even touching 10.19 in 2012 and 10.02 in 2014. He finally ran sub-10 in 2015, and has done so every season since. Through those five years of pushing to break that barrier for the first time, Simbine recalled being almost too obsessed with it. 'I kept running 10s, and I thought of chasing a time. And when I started chasing a time, I forgot about what sprinting means, what I actually meant to do in it, and the art of sprinting,' Simbine told HT in a World Athletics media call. 'That's like a mental block you're trying to make for yourself. As much as you say you want to run sub-10, but if you're constantly chasing that sub-10, you forget about actually putting your race together in the best possible way.' A few Indians could well relate to those words. The country's sprinting scene is witnessing some of its most exciting times. In March, Gurindervir Singh lowered the men's 100m national record to 10.20 from Manikanta Hoblidhar's 2023 mark of 10.23. A month later, the 100m quartet of Gurindervir, Manikanta, Animesh Kujur and Amlan Borgohain shattered the 4x100m relay national record of 15 years clocking 38.69s. Each of these sprinters, who now train together at the Reliance Foundation's Navi Mumbai centre, has dipped below 10.30. They've all taken baby steps towards a mark that, although seems close enough on paper, is still a fair bit away in reality for Indian sprinters. Constantly carrying that career-defining figure can indeed, as Simbine put it, lead to a mental block. 'I can relate to that,' Gurindervir said. 'Most athletes are chasing that time. They approach seasons accordingly, thinking I want to target this in a particular competition and so on. That only increases the pressure in your mind, especially when you don't meet that. You start feeling stressed, and thinking, 'I'm not able to crack it, it's taking longer than expected'. We will need to get rid of that mindset.' It is, of course, easier said than done, but it stands as among the bigger challenges in crossing that barrier for the first time. 'I know a couple of Indian guys are knocking on the door, and I've seen a couple of them too,' said Simbine, who led South Africa to the 100m relay silver at the Paris Games and was 0.01s behind bronze medallist Fred Kerley in the 100m final. 'From my experience, the big thing was to stop thinking about it and to stop chasing the time. Because when I got better at my sprinting, that is what brought my times down over time.' India's fastest male currently has thus begun setting time-specific targets in training rather than in races. 'In the race, my only focus is to repeat the things I've done in training and focus on specific technical aspects. I've stopped running behind specific timings in races,' Gurindervir said. After some years of health issues and indifferent form, the Punjab sprinter has shown a significant uptick this season. Part of that is down to him joining Reliance Foundation and having access to better training facilities, coaching, other support setup and quality fellow trainees including his relay teammates. On his recent international competitive outings, the 24-year-old observed a few sub-10 sprinters. 'I realised there's plenty of difference in their body language compared to mine,' he said. 'I'm starting as well as them, but my transition after that needs improvement. Some of these things I wasn't even aware of before. Now that I am, it is about learning and improving as quickly as possible.' Those improvements, however, will take time to show. To go from 10.2 to 10.1 or even 10.0, according to Gurindervir, will require technical changes ranging from running posture and mechanism, and adding strength to specific muscles. 'We won't get to that time in a year, because the improvements will take time to reflect on performance. Once that becomes a habit, the results will take maybe two years to show. Then, not only will the timing improve, but they will also get more consistent,' the national record holder said. 'We are all working hard towards that.'
Hindustan Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
UAE GP: Animesh, relay team set new meet marks
New Delhi: India's Animesh Kujur set a meet record in 200m at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix, clocking 20.45s at the Dubai Police Stadium on Friday. Another Indian runner, Amlan Borgohain, clocked 21.08s to finish 5th overall. Animesh has been in excellent form this season and broke the national record (20.40s) at the Federation Cup recently and this run will help him garner points from the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze level meet. Later, Animesh, Gurindervir Singh, Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain clocked 38.76s in 4x100 relay to finish on top and set a new meet record. Oman came second with a timing of 39.27s. The Indian quartet recently broke the 15-year old national record with a timing of 38.69s at the Indian Open Relay meet in Chandigarh. Mohammed Afsal set a new national mark in 800m with a time of 1:45.61s. The previous record was held by Asian Games medallist Jinson Johnson (1:45.65) in 2018. Afsal finished second overall with Kenyan Nicholas Kiplagat winning the race (1:45.38s) In the men's 100m, national record holder Gurindervir clocked 10.41s while Manikanta crossed the line in 10.52s. It has been a good domestic season for Indian sprinters pushing each other in domestic meets. Gurindervir got the national record (10.20s) at the Indian GP competition bettering Manikanta's mark of 10.23 achieved last year. Manikanta's best this season is 10.22s which came in the same race. However, both were far off from Oman's Ali Al Balooshi who topped in UAE GP with 10.19s. Sri Lankan Chamod Yodhasinghe was second (10.27s) and Bahrain's Ali HAjji was third (10.30s). Gurindervir finish 8th overall and Manikanta 12th. In the men's 400m, India's Mohamed Sinan came second (46.67s) with Suleiman Abdirahman of UAE taking first place (45.66s). In the triple jump, Sawant Poorva jumped 13.09m to come third.
The Hindu
30-04-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Gurindervir, Animesh, Manikanta, Amlan's 4x100m national record will be broken multiple times this season: James Hillier
In a little over the course of a month, three Indian National sprint records have been rewritten in the record books. On March 28, Gurindervir Singh broke the Indian 100m record. Animesh Kujur then shattered the 200m record at the Federation Cup on April 24. On Wednesday, at the Sector 7 stadium in Chandigarh, it was the turn of the Indian 4x100m record, set in 2010 -- it was the oldest standing Indian men's track record -- to fall. Amlan Borgohain, Manikanta Hoblidar, Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh, representing Reliance Sports Foundation, stormed to victory in the Indian National Relay Competition in a time of 38.69, slashing 2/10ths of a second off the previous mark of 38.89 set by the Indian team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. READ: National Open Relay Carnival: Gurindervir, Animesh, Manikanta, Amlan set new National Record in 4x100m All records might have fallen to athletes training with Reliance Sports Foundation coaches -- Animesh trains with Martin Owens in Odisha, while the other three train with athletics director James Hillier in Mumbai -- but Hillier says the relay mark might be the one that's most satisfying. 'I think the 4x100m record is a hugely symbolic one. It's one thing to get records in individual events like the 100m and 200m. But to get it in a relay means you have four runners who are really good and running at the same time with great chemistry,' he says. For Hillier, who has been working in India since 2019, the relay record is proof that his program is starting to deliver results. 'I've been talking about India having a sprint revolution for a while now, but you have to back these words with actions and results. Now we are seeing results. We had broken the 100-200m records, and now we have the 4x100m record. I think the momentum we are developing is massive. I think people are going to start having to take notice of Indian sprinting now,' he says. Much of the credit Hillier gives for the team's success is the fact that there is a group of high-quality sprinters training at the same base in Mumbai and constantly driving each other in both the training hall and competition. Indeed, the 100m record that Gurindervir broke belonged to Manikanta, while the 200m record, now in the name of Animesh, was once held by Amlan. 'Everyone is just constantly pushing each other,' says Hillier. According to Hillier, the fact that all three records have come as early in the season as they have suggests that the timings will only improve as his athletes prepare for bigger competitions in the season. The relay team, in particular, hadn't even trained a complete relay session together. 'We aren't anywhere near our best. We have been running constantly in the past few weeks. We only had one relay practice before this race (in Chandigarh). Gurindervir wasn't even part of that because he was competing in Iran. This is the first race we have run and we ended up breaking the national record by 2/10ths of a second, which is massive in sprint events,' he says. The team could have broken the record twice over. Despite running conservatively in the morning heat on the advice of their coach, they finished 0.04 seconds faster than the old record. 'Because we were running for the first time, I told them to run hard but to keep the baton exchanges nice and safe. I wanted them to have a sensible race so that they could build their confidence. And when we saw that we nearly got the record in the morning's race, we had the belief we could get it in the final,' says Hillier. Hillier says the team identified simple areas to improve on after the heats, and that gave them an improvement of 2/10ths of a second in the final. Target Asian medal The fact that such a dramatic improvement of the record was possible after just minor tweaks in a squad that was running together for the first time means the quartet can get even faster. 'They could have run even faster. There are loads of areas they can improve. These boys can be looking at running in the low-38 seconds and potentially even in the 37-second range. There is a huge room for improvement,' says Hillier. While anything in the low-38-second range will take time to accomplish, there are milestones that are well within reach. A time of 38.69 seconds would have been enough to place on the podium at any Asian Games (bronze at the 2022 edition went to South Korea with a time of 38.74), potentially putting the Indian squad in sight of their first medal in the event since the 1970 Asian Games over half-a-century ago. The first step towards that goal will come at the Asian Championships in May. James Hillier poses with Amlan Borgohain (right) and Jyothi Yarraji. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement 'When we go to the Asian Championships, I think we have a realistic chance of winning a medal in the relay. I don't think anyone would have believed that was a possibility even last year. I don't want to put the team under any pressure but it is a clear possibility,' says Hillier. Anything like the time they ran in Chandigarh should mean Hillier's squad returns with a medal. But Hillier wouldn't want his boys to think beyond that. He's already told them he expects better timings. 'I told them to enjoy this moment but that it's only the start for us,' he says. As his athletes run more and more races this year, Hillier expects their timings to get better not only in the relay but also in the sprints. 'I think we have a very high window for improvement in the 100m and the relay in particular. In the short term, we will be looking to improve in the relay. We have four weeks until the Asian Championships and we will be working on our exchanges to make things really sharp by then. But, I think we will be improving in all our sprint results this year. These records that we are setting will be broken multiple times this season,' he says.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
India's fastest men not included for Asian meet
Gurindervir Singh (left) (Syed Asif/TOI) KOCHI/BENGALURU: A few of India's top stars including national record holder in men's 100m Gurindervir Singh , former record holder Manikanta Hoblidhar and leading men's 800m runner Mohammed Afsal, were among those who were dropped from the India squad for next month's Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. The sprinters were included in the 4x100m relay team in a late development. Indian Athletics came up with fresh yardsticks before announcing the squad on Friday, and though AFI president Bahadur Singh Sagoo and chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair said at the announcement press conference that a top-two finish at the Federation Cup was mandatory for making the squad, experts claim that it was never mentioned in the selection guidelines, published on the Indian Athletics website on Dec 31, 2024. 'Because of this new rule, which was never published before, Gurindervir, Manikanta and Afsal missed out on a chance to represent India at the Asian meet,' sources told TOI. While Gurindervir and Manikanta met the qualification mark of 10.25s at the Indian GP meet in Bengaluru, Afsal had met qualification in the heats at the Federation Athletics meet clocking 1:46.70s which was lower than the qualification standard of 1:47.77s. Though Afsal failed to get a top two finish, settling instead for fourth place in the final, none of the finalists including Anu Kumar (gold) and Kishan Kumar (silver), who both made the squad, met the Asian qualifying mark. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Senioren entdecken eine einfache Lösung gegen Nagelpilz Heilratgeber Weiterlesen Undo Manikanta Hoblidhar (Chetan Shivakumar/TOI) According to sources, their below-par performances in Kochi may have cost Gurindervir and Manikanta. 'There was a big gap in the performances. After the blazing run in Bengaluru, Gurindervir dropped to over 11 seconds in Kochi. That was the reason why he was not selected,' an AFI source told TOI. Gurindervir limped to a seventh-place finish, reportedly due to cramps, while Manikanta finished third. 'Gurindervir will have another chance in the World Athletics bronze meet next month and if he shows form then he will stay in the 4x100m relay squad,' sources added. Pole vaulter Dev Kumar Meena was also not considered despite improving his own national record to 5.35m in in Kochi, as this mark was below the Asian Championships qualification standard. National record holder Toor, who won gold in the last edition of the Asian Championship, was excluded from the squad after he finished a disappointing second with a throw of 18.77m in Kochi. Praveen, Shaili headline squad Meanwhile, Praveen Chithravel, Shaili Singh, and Animesh Kujur headlined the contingent. Odisha's Animesh Kujur set a national record in the 200m, while Shaili Singh erased a 23-year-old meet record of mentor Anju Bobby George in the women's long jump in Kochi. Praveen Chitravel soared to 17.37m at the Federation Athletics Championship to not only equal his national record but also seal his spot for the World Championship. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be absent from the Indian contingent due to concurrent international events, including his participation in the Doha Diamond League and the Neeraj Chopra Classic. Indian squad: Men: 200m: Animesh Kujur; 800m: Anu Kumar,Krishan Kumar; 1500m: Younus Shah; 3000m steeplechase: Avinash Sable; 5000m: Gulveer Singh,Abhishek Pal; 10,000m: Gulveer Singh,Sawan Barwal; Triple jump: Praveen Chithravel,Abdulla Aboobacker; High jump: Sarvesh Kushare; Shot Put: Samardeep Singh Gill; Javelin: Sachin Yadav,Yashvir Singh; Decathlon: Tejaswin Shankar; 20km walk: Servin Sebastian,Amit; 4x100m relay: Pranav Pramod,Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidar,Amlan Borgohain,Tamilarasu,Ragul Kumar,Gurvinder Singh; 4x400m relay: Vishal TK,Jay Kumar,Manu TS,Dharamveer Chaudhary,Rince Joseph,Tushar Kanti,Santosh Kumar,Mohit Kumar. Women:200m: Nithya Gandhe; 400m: Rupal Chaudhary,Vithya Ramraj; 800m: Twinkle Chaudhary,Pooja; 1500m: Lili Das,Pooja; 3000m steeplechase: Parul Chaudhary,Ankita; 5000m: Sanjivani Baburao,Parul Chaudhary; 10,000m: Sanjivani Baburao,Seema; 100m hurdles: Jyothi Yarraji: 400m hurdles: Vithya Ramraj,Anu R; Long jump: Shaili Singh,Ancy Sojan, Heptathlon: Nandini Agasara; 4x100m relay: Nithya Gandhe,Abhinaya Rajarajan,Sneha S,Srabani Nanda,Daneshwari,V Sudeeksha; 4x400m: Rupal,Sneha K,Subha Venkatesan,Jisna Mathew,Kunja Rajitha,Sandramol Sabu.
The Hindu
21-04-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Pranav emerges fastest; Sachin wins javelin gold at Federation Athletics
Pranav Pramod Gurav felt a bit of a shiver as he lined up for the men's 100m final in the 28th National Federation Athletics Championships at the Maharaja's Stadium here on Monday evening. With four of the six fastest Indian men in history, it was the perhaps the strongest-ever field in a major national competition and Pranav did not give himself much of a chance. But the 23-year-old Railway athlete from Pune shocked national record holder Gurindervir Singh, former record holder Manikanta Hoblidhar and National Games champion Animesh Kujur to stunningly take the gold in a personal best 10.27s. A bit restless, Gurindervir did not have a good start but Pranav had a great one. He was slightly ahead by the 60m mark and finished with a smart dip. Animesh (10.32s) took the silver while Manikanta, who broke the meet record in the semifinal and achieved the AFI's Asian Championship qualification clocking 10.25s, was third in 10.35. Gurindervir (national record 10.20s) appeared to limp at the finish and ended up last. 'I dedicate this gold to my grandfather who is in ICU in a Pune hospital,' said Pranav. 'I've been finishing second often in major competitions, I didn't expect this gold. With so many fast runners, I expected a national record today but that didn't happen.' Telangana's Nithya Gandhe was the fastest woman in 11.50s. National Games champion Sachin Yadav, the world's fifth best javelin thrower this year, won with a fifth-round effort of 83.86m while Yashvir Singh (80.85m) was second. The top seven finishers made the cut for next month's Asian Championship in Gumi, South Korea. The results (winners only): Men: 100m: Pranav Gurav (Rly) 10.27s; 1500m: Yoonus Shah (JSW) 3:41.93s; 10,000m: Sawan Barwal (Army) 28:57.13s MR, OR Surendra Singh's 28:57.90; javelin throw: Sachin Yadav (UP) 83.86m. Women: 100m: Nithya Gandhe (Tel) 11.50s; 1500m: Lili Das (Utk) 4:10.88s; 10,000m: Sanjivani Jadav (Mah) 33:44.43s; pole vault: Pavithra Venkatesh (TN) 4m.
