When Gulveer Singh steps onto the track at the upcoming World Athletics Championships, he won’t just be running for himself.
He will be carrying the weight of decades of Indian distance running history. Singh will become only the third Indian male athlete ever to contest the men’s 5000m at the World Championships. Before him, only Bahadur Prasad (1993 & 1995) and Govindan Lakshmanan (2017) have featured in the event. Both fought bravely but fell short of reaching the final. No Indian man has ever progressed that far.
Now, the question is simple but powerful: can Gulveer Singh be the first?
For years, India’s strengths in athletics have come from field events most famously Neeraj Chopra’s javelin exploits. Track events, particularly the middle- and long-distance races, have remained a daunting frontier. Gulveer Singh is rewriting that narrative. The 26-year-old has had a historic 2025 season, marked by records and breakthroughs that place him in uncharted territory for an Indian runner. At the Terrier DMR Challenge in Boston, Singh ran 12:59.77 indoors smashing his own outdoor national record of 13:11.82. This made him not only the first Indian to break the 13-minute barrier but also faster than the Asian indoor record.
Gulveer Singh Smashes 3000m National Record in Budapest, Climbs Asian All-Time Rankings
In one race, Singh transformed Indian distance running from aspirational to world-class. Beyond that, he has clocked 27:00.22 in the 10,000m (a whisker off the Worlds qualifying mark) and 7:34.49 in the 3000m, again breaking his own national record. These performances underline not just endurance but also tactical speed the crucial ingredient for surviving the tactical heats of the World Championships.
Following in the Footsteps of Two Trailblazers
Comparisons with Bahadur Prasad and Govindan Lakshmanan highlight how far Singh has pushed the bar.
- Bahadur Prasad clocked 13:53.59 in 1993 and 14:09.51 in 1995 — respectable, but well off the qualifying pace.
- Govindan Lakshmanan ran 13:35.69 at the 2017 Worlds, his personal best, but still fell short of the final.
Against this backdrop, Singh’s 12:59.77 represents a quantum leap. He isn’t just entering to participate he has the times to genuinely compete.
But the World Championships aren’t decided by personal bests alone. The heats often unfold as cagey, tactical affairs slower early laps followed by explosive last-kilometre surges. Qualification typically requires either a top-five finish in the heat or a fastest-loser spot with times in the 13:30 range. Singh’s weapon here is his finishing kick. His 3000m record indicates he can produce speed under pressure, and his Asian Championships gold earlier this year was won with a decisive late burst. That ability to “sit and kick” could make the difference.
A key factor in Singh’s rise has been his training environment. He has spent the past months in Colorado Springs, working with Scott Simmons at the American Distance Project. Simmons has previously guided Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary to global breakthroughs. High-altitude training and world-class competition have clearly sharpened Singh’s physiology and race craft.
This represents a shift for Indian athletics away from insular domestic camps toward global exposure and elite coaching. Singh is the proof of concept.
Can History Be Rewritten?
The men’s 5000m remains one of the sport’s most competitive arenas. The world’s top times in 2025 hover around 12:44–12:48, led by athletes from Ethiopia, Kenya, the US, and Europe. Against that backdrop, Singh’s sub-13 performance places him within striking range, though still outside the very top tier. But making the final the long-elusive barrier for Indian runners no longer seems impossible. For the first time, an Indian athlete has the physiological tools and tactical awareness to compete shoulder-to-shoulder with the best.
Regardless of the outcome, Gulveer Singh’s presence in the 5000m is already a watershed moment for Indian athletics. He has shattered old benchmarks, validated the benefits of international training, and inspired a new generation of middle- and long-distance runners. If he reaches the final, it will be historic. If he doesn’t, the very fact that it is now a realistic possibility signals that Indian distance running has entered a new era.
