Gulveer Singh breaks own national record in Long Distance meet in Japan

India’s Gulveer Singh has broken his national record at the 2024 Long Distance meet in Japan. The 26-year-old finished the 10,000-metre race in 27 minutes and 14.88 seconds on Saturday, November 23, at Hachioji, near Tokyo. His previous record was 27 minutes and 41.81 seconds which he made in March at the TEN Event in San Juan, United States.

Besides his success in 10,000 meters, Gulveer also holds the national record in the 5,000-metre category. Earlier in September, the Indian athlete completed 5000 meters in 13 minutes and 11.82 seconds and went past his own national record created at the Japan athletics meet.

Gulveer, however, could not qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The qualification time for the quadrennial event was 27 minutes, which he was unable to achieve, falling short by around 41 seconds.

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Gulveer Singh’s career for India

Although Gulveer Singh has yet to don the national colors at the Olympics, he has had his fair share of success over the years. Last year, he won the bronze medal in the 10,000-metre category at the Asian Games that took place in Hangzhou.

He finished third with a timing of 28 minutes and 17.21 seconds at the HOC Stadium. Birhanu Balew of Bahrain won the gold medal with a timing of 28 minutes and 13.62 seconds. India’s Kartik Kumar won the silver and finished second while clocking 28 minutes and 15.38 seconds.

Back in 2023, Gulveer also clinched the bronze medal in the 5000-metre category at the Asian Championships in Bangkok. He finished third with a timing of 13 minutes and 48.33 seconds, with Japan’s Hyuga Endo and Kazuya Shiojiri finishing in the first and second spots, respectively.

Gulveer Singh also has a gold medal that he won at the Indian National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships last year in May.

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