Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday extended his congratulations to athlete Gurindervir Singh for breaking the men's 100-metre national record at the Federation Cup athletics meet held in Ranchi. Gurindervir clocked 10.09 seconds in the final on Saturday, becoming the first Indian sprinter to complete the event in under 10.10 seconds.
Chief Minister's Statement
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) in Punjabi, Mann described the achievement as a proud moment for both Punjab and India. "Our brave young son has set a new national record by clocking just 10.09 seconds. Gurindervir has become the first Indian athlete to clock less than 10.10 seconds in the 100-metre race," the chief minister said. He further added that the athlete had brought recognition to Punjab at the national and international level. "The entire Punjab takes pride in Gurindervir's historic achievement," Mann stated.
Record Progression
Gurindervir, aged 24, improved the previous national record by 0.06 seconds. The earlier mark had been set just a day before in the semifinals by Animesh Kujur. Interestingly, Gurindervir had briefly held the record himself after running 10.17 seconds in the semifinals, before Animesh bettered it minutes later with a timing of 10.15 seconds. On Saturday, Gurindervir regained the record in the final. Both he and Animesh also qualified for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where they will represent India in the men's 100-metre event.
Other Records at Federation Cup
The Federation Cup also witnessed another national record on Saturday. Vishal Thennarasu Kayalvizhi became the first Indian man to run the 400 metres in under 45 seconds, winning the race with a time of 44.98 seconds. Vishal's run came shortly after Gurindervir's 10.09-second effort in the men's 100 metres, making it a memorable day for Indian athletics in Ranchi.
Qualification and Rankings
Gurindervir also crossed the Athletics Federation of India's qualification mark of 10.16 seconds for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. His timing of 10.09 seconds is currently the second fastest by an Asian athlete this season, behind Japanese sprinter Fukuto Komuro, who clocked 10.08 seconds in May.
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