2 days, 2 national records: Gurindervir is the fastest Indian alive

Indian sprinting witnessed a historic two-day battle in Ranchi as Gurindervir Singh broke the men’s 100m national record twice during the Federation Cup athletics championship. After briefly holding the record for the first time on Friday, Gurindervir bounced back on Saturday with a sensational sprint of 10.09 seconds to become the first ever Indian to break the 10.10 mark.

The Punjab sprinter clocked a historic time in the men’s 100m final on May 23, beating Animesh Kujur’s national record and also sealing qualification for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

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The dramatic end came just 24 hours later Gurindervir and Kujur have already exchanged national records during their semi-final runsproducing one of the most exciting sprint contests Indian athletics has witnessed in recent years.

On Saturday, Kujur finished second with a time of 10.20 seconds while Pranav Promod completed the podium in 10.29 seconds.

The Federation Cup in Ranchi also served as a qualifying event for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, adding even more significance to the battle between the country’s fastest sprinters.

FED CUP: GURINDERVIR vs ANIMESH

The chaos surrounding the national record actually began a day earlier during the semifinal heats on May 22.

Gurindervir initially broke Animesh Kujur’s previous national record of 10.18 seconds with 10.17 seconds in the opening semi-final heat. Gurindervir stood as the fastest man in India for 100 meters for several minutes.

But the celebrations barely lasted.

In the very next semi-final heat, Odisha sprinter Animesh Kujur immediately responded with a stunning 10.15 second run to claim the national record and officially break the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard of 10.16 seconds.

While Animesh secured CWG qualification on Friday, Gurindervir narrowly missed the mark by just 0.01 seconds with his time of 10.17.

However, the sprinter from Punjab made a strong comeback during Saturday’s final, completely breaking the barrier with his sprint of 10.09 seconds.

In doing so, Gurindervir not only claimed a national record but also became the first Indian athlete to officially run under 10.10 seconds in the men’s 100m category.

100M SPICE CATEGORY UP

Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur’s performances over the last two days have now set up what could become a defining rivalry for Indian athletics in sprints heading into the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games cycle.

Gurindervir, trained by James Hillier, and Animesh, mentored by Martin Owens, have now unleashed a record-breaking rivalry that is taking Indian sprinting into uncharted territory.

Indian athletics has been waiting for years for a sprinter to finally break the symbolic mark of 10.10 seconds.

In Ranchi, this barrier not only fell, but was broken twice in two memorable days.

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Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

23 May 2026 20:32 IST

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