Did Gulveer Singh Secure Gold at the Asian Athletics Championships?

Gumi (South Korea), May 27 (NationPress) Hangzhou Asian Games medalist, Gulveer Singh, sprinted to victory, securing the gold in the men’s 10,000m event, while race walker Servin Sebastian claimed bronze on the opening day of the 26th Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on Tuesday.

The evening session concluded on a disappointing note as Annu Rani narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the women's javelin throw.

The day, however, was dominated by Gulveer, who achieved the first gold for India. Earlier in the morning, race walker Servin Sebastian won bronze in the 20km race walk.

In a thrilling final lap, Gulveer, aged 26, surged ahead of his competitors to finish the 10,000m in a time of 28:38.63, which was not quite as fast as his personal best of 27:00.22 achieved in March.

Despite the warm weather conditions affecting his pace during the 25-lap race, he was thrilled to have secured gold at this continental event.

“Regardless of the time, my primary aim was to finish first. I’m pleased with how I executed my race strategy,” Singh stated in a post-race interview. “This gold medal will definitely boost my world ranking and enhance my chances of qualifying for the Tokyo World Athletics Championships in September,” Gulveer expressed, as quoted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

The automatic qualification time for the men’s 10,000m is 27:00.00. Singh had previously missed the qualification mark in March at The Ten event in California, USA, despite recording a personal best of 27:00.22.

Athletes can also secure qualification for the World Championships through the global ranking system. Tuesday’s gold medal in Gumi will positively impact Singh’s world ranking.

Given the warm conditions, the local organizing committee established a water station during the 10,000m race. Singh indicated that he conserved energy for the final lap and made his move at the right moment.

“I accelerated in the last lap and shifted into high gear at the 200m mark. If someone had pushed me, I could have gone even faster as I wasn’t fatigued after crossing the finish line,” the national record holder added.

Another Indian, Sawan Barwal, finished fourth with a time of 28:50.53.

With the gold medal in hand, Gulveer is now aiming to achieve a remarkable double in the men’s 5,000m event, scheduled for the final day of the championships on May 31. All athletes, including Gulveer, have ample time to recuperate for another thrilling race.

In the morning session, Servin Sebastian set the tone for India by clinching the first medal, a bronze in the men’s 20km race walk. The 26-year-old Army athlete achieved a personal best of 1:21:13.90 in his continental debut.

“It was a solid race. I’m pleased to be among the medalists in my first continental competition,” Sebastian shared with the AFI after his event.

Since the beginning of the 2025 season, Sebastian has shown consistent performance. In February, he won gold in the 20km race walk at the Uttarakhand National Games with a time of 1:21:23. He secured another gold (1:21:47) at the Indian Open Race Walking Competition in April in Chandigarh.

The medalists in the race walk surpassed the championship record of 1:24:42 set by Japan's Yutaro Murayama in the previous edition held in 2023 in Bangkok.

Throughout the demanding 20km event, Sebastian maintained a position with the leading group of seven athletes. Despite the race pace increasing, he kept a steady rhythm until the leading pack narrowed down to three, including one athlete from China and one from Japan.

However, in the last 2km, Wang Zhaozhao and Kento Yoshikawa managed to create a slight gap that widened, making it impossible for the Indian walker to catch up. “I tried to close the gap but ended up finishing in third place,” Sebastian remarked.

Amit, the other Indian race walker, finished fourth.

India’s top female javelin thrower, Annu Rani, ended up fourth with a throw of 58.30m. Her attempts included distances of 56.92m, no mark, 58.30m, 58.11m, 57.80m, and another no mark.

India’s Yoonus Shah advanced to the medal round in the men’s 1500m, securing second place in his heat with a time of 3:46.96. Servesh Anil Kushare also made it to the final in the men’s high jump.

Vishal TK qualified for the men’s 400m final, clocking 46.05 seconds in the semifinals. Jay Kumar finished fourth in the 400m semifinals (46.87 seconds), missing out on the medal round.

Both Rupal Chaudhary and Vithya Ramraj qualified for the women’s 400m final, with Rupal timing 53.00 seconds in her heat while Vithya clocked 53.32 seconds to advance. Tejaswin Shankar is currently competing in the decathlon.