Gurindervir Singh: India's need for speed

A pumped-up Gurindervir, now dreams of becoming the first Indian to breach the magical number but is aware of all the hard work ahead.

India’s ever-growing sprinting ambitions caught a strong tailwind last week when Punjab runner Gurindervir Singh broke the national record with a stunning 10.09 seconds effort at the Federation Cup in Ranchi last weekend.

The lightning effort soon caught the social media by storm as the 25-year-old Reliance athlete was soon dubbed the new ‘Usain Bolt of India’ with a certain viral post claiming that he is now ‘just’ 0.51 seconds behind the God of sprint. The idea of ‘just’ may give the impression that it’s a matter of time before we see an Indian as quick as Bolt. The truth, however, is far from it.

The reality is the nation is far from any such glory as slashing a pace as minuscule 0.05 — as fast as a blink of an eye — is itself an arduous task. That’s why India continues its hunt for a first-ever sub-10 runner (below 10 seconds). However, a sub-10 run doesn’t look like a myth anymore.

Instead, it seems closer than ever expected. One must credit James Hillier and his sprint programme at Reliance for nurturing talents like Gurindervir, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar, among others, into consistent performers. Over the last three years, these sprinters took turns to improve once stagnant record (at 10.26). In Ranchi, it turned further intense as the national record changed thrice in the space of 24 hours in a fascinating duel between Gurindervir and Animesh, who remains India’s best in 200m.

A pumped-up Gurindervir, who never allowed his nearest rival to catch up in that stunning final in Ranchi, now dreams of becoming the first Indian to breach the magical number but is aware of all the hard work ahead.

“It will be wrong of me to say that I will go sub-10 at the next Commonwealth Games or Asian Games,” Gurindervir said while interacting with select media. “The fact is I had to work very hard with my coach Hillier to go sub-10.10 and I will have to work harder to go sub-10 without thinking when it will happen.”

Coach Hillier, who has always kept his ambitions realistic, gave further clarity on what someone like Gurvinder needed to do to reach the unprecedented mark.

“Well, he’s got to improve everything,” said the Briton. “Basically, everything he does has to be a little bit better; that’s really the answer. It’s not one thing that we necessarily focus on; we might prioritise certain things at certain times of the year. It’s important to educate on what one needs to be done and for that we can start with what sub-10 athletes do to maintain that pace.”

For now, India’s sprint revolution may still be chasing the mythical barrier but with the new generation gathering pace, the finish line no longer feels impossibly distant.