Double national record holder Gulveer targets third NR

Kolkata, Dec 13: Fresh from setting two national records in 5,000m and 10,000m this season, Asian Games bronze medallist Gulveer Singh is now eyeing a third – to break the 16-year-old NR in the 3,000m race.
The current national record stands at 7:50.31 in the name of Surendra Singh.
“My next big target is to break the 3,000m national record, which has stood for 16 years,” said Singh who is here to compete in the Tata Steel World 25K in Kolkata on Sunday.
“In addition, I’m aiming for success at the Asian Championships, the World Championships, and continuing to improve my performance across international competitions.” Earlier this year, the 26-year-old became the first Indian runner to break the 28-minute mark for the 10,000m track, setting a national record with a time of 27:14.88.
This time placed him eighth on the all-time Asian list for the 10,000m, with no other Indian in the top-100.
It was also the fastest Asian time of the year, surpassing Japan’s Jun Kasai’s 27:17.46. Overall, it ranked as the 33rd-best time of the 2024 athletics season in the 10,000m.
In addition to his 10,000m success, Singh holds the national record in the 5,000m.
In September, he broke his own previous record by seven seconds in Japan, winning the race with a time of 13:11.82. At the Asian Games last year, he clinched the 10,000m bronze with a personal best of 28:17.21. He also won the 5,000m bronze at the Asian Championships with a time of 13:48.33.
After joining the Indian Army in 2018 and being posted in Arunachal Pradesh, the athlete from Aligarh took up to running in 2021 and quickly made his mark, with a notable third-place finish in the 10k road event in 2022. (PTI)