Gulveer Singh claimed a gutsy men's 10,000m silver at the Asian Games 2026
The podium finish upgrades his bronze from Hangzhou 2022, cementing a stellar season
Hailing from Aligarh and trained in Colorado Springs, the Army athlete continues a stellar breakout year
Gulveer Singh produced another gutsy performance on the track, clocking 28:29.38 to claim silver in the men's 10,000m final in Nagoya. Racing over 25 laps, the 28-year-old sat patiently on the leader's shoulder through the middle stages before unleashing a fierce finishing kick, splitting Bahrain's pair to cross the line just 1.87 seconds behind gold and ahead of Kenya's Albert Kiptoo.
The medal is the latest chapter in a breakout year for the Army athlete. Born into a farming family in Sirsa village, Aligarh, Gulveer joined the Indian Army through the sports quota and rose through the ranks to become Asia's premier long-distance runner. He first announced himself with 10,000m bronze at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, then swept both the 5000m and 10,000m gold at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi.
Training at altitude in Colorado Springs under coach Scott Simons, he smashed the Indian national record with a 27:00.22 clocking in March 2025, before adding Commonwealth Games silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5000m at Glasgow this July — becoming the first Indian track athlete to win two medals at a single CWG. Nagoya now gives him an Asian Games upgrade from bronze to silver.
Gulveer's medal came on a big Day 7 for India, who also struck gold through Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, added a rifle shooting silver, and picked up further medals across table tennis, squash, hockey and shot put — pushing the country's overall tally past the 20-medal mark.
