'Animesh And I Will Win': Gurindervir Backs India For Sprint Double At Asian Games

Gurindervir Singh is looking towards Nagoya with considerably more confidence.© AFP

The track at Delhi's Jawaharlal Stadium had emptied, but Gurindervir Singh was still running. And this time it was not against a clock, but against a growing crowd of fans at the venue for the Asian Games warm-up athletics meet in the capital.  The temperature had climbed to around 36 degrees, with humidity hovering at 79 percent on Thursday afternoon, as India's Nagoya-bound athletics squad gathered for one final dress rehearsal. Gurindervir had done his bit on the track, finishing second in the 100m final of the Indian Athletics Series Final in 10.32 seconds.

Almost an hour post his event, the fastest man in India was surrounded by fans, posing for photographs, signing off on selfies and making his way through a medal ceremony and a relentless stream of requests. The sprint star had barely finished competing before he became the afternoon's biggest attraction.

There was no escaping the attention. Gurindervir, though, knows where it comes from.

"I don't know how to express this feeling. These people give me so much love," he said during a brief respite from the selfie session.

"I hope I'll be able to put up good performances for them again and again. Sometimes I get tired of all the attention because they come to me right after the race. But I'm glad they are with me all the way."
The stardom is relatively new.

In May, Gurindervir broke through a barrier no Indian male sprinter had crossed before, clocking 10.09 seconds at the Federation Cup in Ranchi. The national record made him the first Indian man to run under 10.10 seconds and put him firmly among India's biggest sprint hopes
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But the highs were followed almost immediately by a low.

A week after setting the national record, Gurindervir suffered a hamstring injury. He would eventually miss the men's 100m final at the Commonwealth Games after clocking 10.39 seconds in his heat, finishing 28th overall and failing to make the semi-finals.

The setback could easily have become a psychological one. Instead, Gurindervir talks about it almost as a necessary part of the journey.

"After a week of establishing the national record, I got injured. After the injury, it took 24-25 days for me to get the right amount of rehab. I got just two weeks to train. You all saw the race at CWG," he said.

"I do feel motivated that a lot of people are proud of me and feel that I can win a podium position. That time, I did not win, but after that setback, I am more focused on training."

The injury was what Gurindervir described as a 'T-Junction' hamstring injury, one that normally takes four or five weeks to recover from. He managed to return in 24 days, with the support of his team around him.

"It is all about the people around you who motivate you. Like my coach, my physios, my dietitians. They always motivate me. So it is all about surroundings," he said.

Four weeks of hard training followed. And now, Gurindervir is looking towards Nagoya with considerably more confidence. His confidence is not limited to his own medal chances.

Animesh Kujur finished ahead of him on Thursday, but there was no bitterness in the defeat. The two men have become rivals on the track and friends everywhere else.

"Yes, we are rivals on the racetrack. After the race and before the race, we are good friends. We have a good relationship," Gurindervir said when asked if he and Animesh see each other as competitors.

That relationship could be crucial as India looks for its first major sprint breakthrough at the Asian Games.

Gurindervir is emphatic about what he expects."100%." Then he expanded on the prediction.

"I'll pray for Animesh. Animesh and I will win. I can confidently say that I'll win 100% and finish on the podium."

It is a bold call, particularly in a field that includes some serious Asian sprinting talent.

Japan's Fukuto Komuro is among the names to watch, having clocked 10.07 seconds this season. Malaysia's Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi, the 2026 Asian U23 champion, is another major threat. He won gold in Ordos in 10.17 seconds and was a bronze medallist at the previous Asian Games.

Japan also has established sub-10-second sprinters while China's Zeng Keli and Wu Haolin add further depth to a field where the margins will be tiny.

Gurindervir knows the immediate threat can come from within his own camp. Asked which countries pose the biggest challenge in Asia, he pointed to Malaysia and Thailand, but his own teammate and friend remains central to his thinking.

The rivalry with Animesh is competitive only for those 100 metres. Beyond the finish line, there is friendship.

And in Nagoya, Gurindervir wants both men to finish on the podium.

For someone who has already experienced the dizzying high of a national record, the disappointment of an injury and the frustration of a major championship that did not go his way, the prediction carries more than bravado.

He has been forced to wait, recover and rebuild. Now, with fans following his every move and the Asian Games looming, India's fastest man is ready to run again. This time, he wants Animesh beside him at the finish line.

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