Athletics Federation of India names 6-member team for World Cross Country Championships
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has announced a six-member strong squad for the upcoming World Cross Country Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday, March 30.
The squad includes Asian Games 10,000m silver medallist Kartik Kumar. Bronze medallist Gulveer Singh is also part of the team. National champion Hemraj Gujjar will also compete in the men’s category. In the women’s category, national champion Ankita, Seema, and Anjali Kumari are part of the squad.
Moving into the details of the squad, Gulveer Singh, who broke a 16-year-old national record in the men’s 10,000m race event in March 2024, is one of the athletes to keep a keen eye on in the contingent.
He clocked 27.41.81s to better the earlier national mark of 28:02.89s by over 20 seconds, which was created by Surendra Singh in 2008. Regrettably, his effort failed to earn him an Olympic quota as he missed the Paris Games qualification time of 27:00.00 by over 41 seconds.
The biennial one-day World Cross Country Championships are considered one of the most challenging races. In the 2023 event, Jacob Kiplimo, the Uganda runner, bagged the gold medal, while Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi secured silver. Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei won bronze in the men's individual category.
Gulveer Singh and his recent controversy
In February 2024, Gulveer Singh suffered a major setback after the conclusion of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran.
The runner initially celebrated his gold medal triumph in the men’s 3,000-metre race, only to see it get revoked due to a lane infringement. Despite an appeal by the Athletics Federation of India, the decision was ultimately upheld.
Although the 3,000-metre event is not included in the Paris Olympics, the victory would have undoubtedly bolstered the young athlete’s confidence.
Alongside Gulveer, Kartik Kumar also scripted history in the Asian Games 2023. The Ethiopian-born long-distance runner, who represented Bahrain, Birhanu Balew clocked 28:13:62, while Kartik was just behind him and concluded the race by clocking 28:15:38. Gulveer Singh, on the other hand, clocked 28:17:21.