At 25, Damneet Singh stands at a crossroads that has defined many Indian athletes before him.
Already the premier hammer thrower in the country, with back-to-back gold medals at major national meets and a steadily improving personal best, he has proven his credentials on the domestic stage. Yet, in athletics, where global standards are unforgiving, domestic supremacy alone is not enough. The 2025 season has been Damneet’s best yet. At the Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai, he claimed gold with a throw of 69.25m, consolidating his place as India’s top hammer thrower.
Earlier in the year, at the Indian Open Athletics Meet in Sangrur, he produced a career-best effort of 69.87m, eclipsing his previous personal best of 68.30m. These results confirm what his career trajectory has long promised. As a teenager, Damneet won silver at the 2017 World U-18 Championships and another at the Asian U-20 Championships, displaying the raw potential that has now matured into consistent senior-level performances.
His ability to keep raising his personal benchmarks year after year shows a positive development curve that few in Indian throws have managed.
The Paradox of Domestic Dominance
But there lies the paradox. At almost every meet, Damneet wins by comfortable margins. His closest rivals, such as Gaurav and Devang, hover around the 67m mark two full meters behind his current best. While this dominance secures medals, it also deprives him of the competitive pressure needed to force world-class breakthroughs. This “competition deficit” is a recurring issue across Indian athletics. Hurdler Tejas Shirse has spoken about “running alone” at national meets, wishing for tougher challengers.
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Without someone breathing down his neck, Damneet who is supported by Reliance Foundation and trains at the Jio Institute often operates in an environment where victory is inevitable. That comfort zone, while rewarding domestically, can hold back the psychological edge and technical risks necessary to chase throws beyond 72m or 75m.
The National Record: The First Major Barrier
The immediate milestone before Damneet is the Indian national record of 70.73m, set by Niraj Kumar in 2016 in Hyderabad. It has stood unchallenged for a decade, becoming a psychological ceiling for Indian hammer throwers. Damneet who is coached by Steve Lemke was even taken on a Europe exposure trip by Reliance last year is within touching distance just meters away. Considering he threw 74.08m with a 6kg hammer in 2018 and nearly 75m with a 5kg hammer in 2017, the raw ability is evident. Translating that junior promise into senior implements now depends on refining technique, speed in rotations, and biomechanical precision.
History shows that once long-standing barriers fall, others quickly follow. In 2025 alone, athletes like Vishal T.K. (400m) and Mohammed Afsal (800m) broke old national records, only to better them again within months. Damneet stands on the verge of such a breakthrough.
Yet, the real test lies beyond India’s borders. The qualifying standard for the 2025 World Athletics Championships is 78.20m. Damneet’s personal best leaves him over eight meters short. Internationally, hammer throwers like Bence Halász (Hungary) and Rudy Winkler (USA) regularly clear 81-83m. The biomechanics, speed, and explosive force needed at that level are of a different order. Closing this gap will require not just physical gains but also exposure to elite competition and advanced training systems that India’s domestic circuit cannot replicate.
Lessons from India’s Sprint Revolution
The path forward is not without precedent. In 2025, Indian sprinting underwent a revolution.
- Animesh Kujur broke national records in both 100m and 200m after training stints in Europe under coach Martin Owens, where he raced against world-class sprinters. Competing with faster athletes, he said, “forces my times down.”
- Vishal T.K., under Jamaican coach Jason Dawson and training in Poland, broke the 400m record with 45.12s. Dawson openly highlighted how a fresh environment and global exposure helped his athlete progress beyond the limitations of India’s domestic scene.
- Mohammed Afsal, another 2025 record-breaker, credited international competition and high-performance support systems for his breakthrough in the 800m.
These stories show that world-class performances don’t emerge from isolation but from measured exposure, scientific coaching, and mental resilience.
For Damneet, the blueprint is clear:
- Break the 70m Barrier Consistently – Winning gold with 68–69m throws is no longer enough. To build confidence, he must consistently cross the 70m mark, making the national record a realistic next step.
- Train Abroad – A stint at a European or American high-performance center, where hammer throw is a specialized craft, will expose him to elite coaching and competition.
- Sports Science Integration – Video biomechanics, rotational velocity analysis, strength programs tailored for throwers, and recovery protocols must all become central to his regimen.
- Mental Conditioning – Like Rohan Bopanna, who reinvented his career through yoga and holistic wellness, Damneet must also prepare mentally for the grind of elite sport. Chasing distances beyond 75m requires not only physical readiness but psychological calm and resilience.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and private foundations now play a critical role. They must provide athletes like Damneet with funded international exposure, access to foreign coaches, and long-term planning rather than short-term event focus. If India’s track and field is to make its mark beyond sprints, then events like hammer throw often overlooked need the same structured investment.
Damneet Singh has already done the hard part: he has proven he can dominate domestically and consistently raise his personal best. But his true test lies ahead. Breaking 70.73m will be more than just a record it will signal India’s arrival in a discipline long ignored in its athletics narrative. The bigger dream is to one day line up at a World Championships final, shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Halász and Winkler, and not just participate but contend.
The question is no longer whether Damneet has the talent. He does. The question is whether India’s system and Damneet himself can take the deliberate, calculated steps needed to turn a national champion into a global competitor.
