Gulveer Singh Falls Short Of Asian Games Cut In 5000m At National Inter-State Meet

Reigning Asian champion and national record holder Gulveer Singh failed to meet the Asian Games qualifying standard in the men’s 5000m race at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships on Wednesday, despite winning the opening event.

The 26-year-old Uttar Pradesh athlete clocked 13:52.92 , which was well outside the 13:39.18 qualifying mark set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) . His performance was also significantly slower than his own national record of 13:03.93 , achieved recently in Los Angeles.

Gulveer, who won a 10,000m bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games , has been in strong international form this season, competing exclusively in the United States. In 2025, he also became the first Indian to break the 13-minute barrier in the 5000m indoors , clocking 12:59.77 , which stands as both a national and Asian indoor record .

The athlete is currently training at the high-altitude centre in Colorado Springs, USA , under coach Scott Simmons , with support from the government’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) . He said the timing was affected by warm weather conditions , a new track with less grip and more bounce , and lack of specific speed work on the surface.

“I am not satisfied with the timing. The conditions were not ideal,” Gulveer said, adding that his training schedule is fully managed by his coach.

This was his first competitive outing in India this season , and he is named in the Indian squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow , where he is expected to compete in both the 5000m and 10,000m events .

Gulveer will also participate in the 1500m race , an event outside his regular range. He has previously clocked 3:37.87 and 3:36.58 in the distance.

He also holds national records in the 3000m and 10,000m events .

In the same race, Abhishek Pal claimed silver with 13:54.18 , while Harmanjot Singh took bronze in 13:54.60 .