Gulveer Singh creates history by breaking 16-year old National Record in 10000m

Indian sprinter Gulveer Singh broke the 16-year-old national record in the men's 10,000m at the Ten in San Juan Capistrano in California on Sunday. India's previous national record in this event was 28.02.89 which was created by Surendra Singh in 2008.

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With a timing of 27.41.81, Gulveer Singh finished second behind American Drew Hunter in the athletics meet. Drew took first place with a time of 27.38.87. Germany's Aaron Bienenfeld finished third with a timing of 27.42.83. However, despite this enormous effort, Gulveer Singh couldn't cross the entry standard of 27:00.00 set for the Paris Olympics 2024.

The effort of Gulveer Singh is also the 37th best Asian time. Despite this, no other Indian is included in the top 100 list. Gulveer had won the bronze medal in the same event in the Asian Games last year, with compatriot Kartik Kumar winning the silver. Gulveer had clocked 28:17.21 compared to Kartik's 28:15.38 to secure a third-place finish at the continental showpiece.

In February, despite making the top of the podium finish, clocking 8 minutes 07.48 seconds in the final, Gulveer Singh lost the gold medal as he was disqualified. Though the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had made a late-night appeal to overturn the decision, unfortunately, it was rejected.

Meanwhile, Kartik Kumar also finished ninth with a new personal best of 28:01.90. Avinash Sable did not finish (DNF) his heat, pulling out of the race in the 15th lap at the 6,000m mark.

On the other hand, Parul Chaudhary finished 20th in the women's 10000 meters race with a timing of 32:02.08 and became the third fastest Indian woman in the category. Despite setting a new personal best she failed to meet the Paris Olympic qualifying standard of 30:40.00.

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In a separate women's 10000-meter race, Seema clocked a personal best time of 32:07.67 to finish third. Sanjivani Jadhav finished fourth with a timing of 32:21.76, while Ankita finished eighth, crossing the finish line in 32:48.71. Both Ankita and Sanjivani performed personal best in this event.