The multiple national record holder will compete in both 10,000m and 5,000m in Tokyo Worlds
Navneet Singh
India’s versatile distance runner and Asian Games bronze medallist, Gulveer Singh, extended his competitive season last year till November. Singh wanted to improve his track timings in both 5,000m and 10,000m to earn entry in elite distance running competition on the USA circuit in 2025.
His hard work has paid off. Singh has qualified for both events for the World Championships in Tokyo starting September 13 and will be one to watch out for. Singh is looking to give his best against world’s best distance runners. He has been in top form throughout the season, breaking national records and winning both 5k and 10k titles at the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea.
The 27-year-old Army’s international runner was successful in lowering his personal best and national records in 5000m/10,000m on Japanese soil at the fag end of the 2024 season.
Singh has been based out of Colorado Springs in the USA, which is at an elevation of 5,000m. The region has an abundance of soft trailing running routes which are above 5,000m elevation. The local weather conditions are ideal for distance running. The Army runner has demonstrated the advantage of practicing at altitude during racing.
Early this year on the USA circuit, Singh scripted a new chapter in the history of Indian distance running. He became the first Indian runner to break the 13 minutes barrier for 5,000m track. In February his time of 12:59.77 seconds at the Boston Indoor race was better than the World Athletics automatic entry standard of 13:01.00 for the Tokyo World Championships.
More exciting was the fact that Singh clocked 12:59.77 in a indoor race. “He will certainly do better in outdoor track races,” says Army’s athletics coach Yunus Khan.
In March, Singh narrowly missed breaking 27 minutes for the 10,000m race in California, USA. “It just slipped from my hands,” Singh said of finishing sixth with a time of 27:00.22. It was an improvement on his own national record set in Japan in November 2024.
On breaking barriers in distance track races, Singh nonchalantly says he just makes an effort to do his best on the given day. “There is no specific goal when I step on the track, but I just try to give my best,” Singh told Sportsbackstory. Com after setting a 10,000m track record in March.
The Asian Games bronze medallist in men’s 10,000m hasn’t raced much outside the USA circuit which has denied him of gaining invaluable experience of shifting gears in the middle of a fast distance track race. Or testing his speed over the last lap in a quality field.
At the Doha Diamond League, Singh finished ninth in the men’s 5,000m with a time of 13:24.32. “The weather was too warm to run a good race,” he claimed after the race.
However, the Indian Army runner didn’t face strong opposition at the Gumi Asian Championships in May in both 10,000m and 5,000m. In both the races he sprinted home to win with a comfortable margin.
“I could have run better,” he revealed after the race. In August he raced over 3,000m track race in Hungary. His timing of 7:34.49 suggests he is on right track for the World Championships.
At Tokyo World Championships, Singh will race in the 10,000m final on September 14. He will run a preliminary round in the 5,000m on September 19.
Box
Season/personal best
5,000m 12:59.77
5,000m (short track—Indoor): 12:59.77
10,000m 27:00.22
3,000m (short track—Indoor): 7:38.26
3,000m 7:34.49
1500m: 3:36.58
Career achievements: 5,000m/10,000m gold at 2025 Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea.
ENDS
