Asian Games 2026: Gulveer Singh headlines India's athletics surge

Moments after finishing his 10,000m race, Gulveer Singh went down on his knees. He touched the ground, then fell on his back and briefly looked up at the sky. When he got up he flashed a smile, which was probably brighter than the silver he had just won. From the bronze from Hangzhou, the upgrade was deserving. The medal was probably loading since June 28, when he won India’s maiden 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.At the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Friday night, Gulveer came home in 28:29.38 minutes to finish between two African-born Bahrain citizens. While Birhanu Balew clinched gold with a time of 28:27.51 minutes, Albert Kipto ended third in 28:34.18.Gulveer, the 28-year-old from Atrauli was tactically sharp and focused on not falling behind. By the fifth lap, he was third in a leader pack of six athletes. He rarely fell behind, barring the midrace when he briefly occupied the fifth position. With four laps to go, the Naib Subedar in the Army upped the pace and moved to second position. By that time the front runners had left behind the rest of the field, with the sixth-placed runner almost 150m behind.When the bell to signal the last lap was rang, it felt like it kicked an adrenaline rush in the eventual podium finishers, with the final 200m more like a sprint race with Balew in top gear. An elated Gulveer later said, “It feels good to win a silver for India at the Asian Games. It is very satisfying.”Gulveer, who like most of the other distance runners trains in Colorado Springs, said, “Races such as these are different from races where you’re chasing time. I trusted the race plan of the coaches, which was to stay relaxed, remain with the lead group, and make my move at the right moment.”Baranica Elangovan suffered a career threatening injury in 2019 and it took her a couple years to find her way back. She raised the bar gradually, until she became the first woman pole vaulter to clinch a medal at the competition. A late bloomer who switched from long jump and triple jump on the insistence of her coach Milber Bertrand Russell, cleared 4.15 metres on her fifth attempt to take the bronze, while the gold stayed at home with Misaki Morota’s personal best of 4.55, earning her the top spot. Chunge Niu (4.50m) of China was secondOn a milestone medal, the 29-year-old said, “It’s always been my dream to rewrite history and I’ve done that today. That said, I’m really happy that I could win a medal for the country.” Such was Baranica’s focus that she didn’t realise she had won a medal until her compatriot Sindhushree Ganesh, who ended last with no mark, told her.“When Sindhu told me, I didn’t believe her. I checked, re-checked and checked again. Only then did I believe the medal was mine. When I saw the medal icon against my name, I signalled to my coach Russell in the stands to check again,” said the athlete, who hails from a farmer’s family in Kuthalam in Tamil Nadu.From the ignominy of a four-year dope ban to standing on the podium at the continental event, Manpreet Kaur’s life has come full circle. Watched by her teenage daughter, the shot putter with a fourth attempt throw of 17.17 metres won bronze behind the Chinese duo of Song Jiayuan (19.40m) and Zhang Linru (18.14m), who won gold and silver, respectively. Manpreet, who returned from the ban in 2021, was slow off the mark with a 16.32, while he best came in her penultimate attempt. The other Indian in the fray, Krishna Jayasankar Menon, finished fifth with a best effort of 16.57m.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.