Interview | I am keen on doing well in the elite events too, says Gulveer Premium

Gulveer Singh, Indian distance runner, breaks records and aims for gold at Asian championships and World championships in 2025.

Gulveer Singh, who hit the headlines last year by breaking the National records in 5000m and 10000m twice each and broke more than a decade old 3000m indoor record in his 2025 season-opener in Boston, is delighted with the improvement he has shown in the last one year.

The 26-year-old Armyman, a bronze medallist in the Hangzhou Asian Games (10,000m) and Asian championships (5,000m) in 2023, first broke his coach Surendra Singh’s 16-year-old National record to be the first Indian to record a sub-28 minute time (27:41.81) over 10,000m in The Ten event at San Juan Capistrano, the USA, in March last and improved it further (28:14.88) in the Hachioji Long Distance event in Japan in November.

Over 5000m, Gulveer clocked 13:18.92 in the Portland Track Festival, the USA, in June before lowering it to 13:11.82 in the Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup in Japan in September.

The runner from Aligarh district in western Uttar Pradesh closed 2024 on a high as he emerged as the best Indian male runner, with a time of 1:14:10 for an overall eighth place, at the Tata Steel Kolkata World 25K in December.

The distance runner clocked 7:38.26 to finish second in the 3000m at the 2025 Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational Indoor Meet last week to begin the new season in style. The previous National record of 7:49.47 was clocked in 2008 by his coach Surendar Singh.

“I am elated to have clocked a good time in my season’s first indoor race. A good performance over 3000m (indoor) has given a big boost to my confidence. I should be able to do better during upcoming outdoor races,” said Gulveer.

With important events, such as the World and Asian athletics championships, scheduled this year, Gulveer is eager to raise his performance a few notches in 2025.