Bhubaneswar: Punjab’s 26-year-old international sprinter Gurvindervir Singh displayed resilience to walk away with the men’s 60m title on the final day of the two-day first National Indoor Athletics Championships at Indoor Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
In a thrilling 60m final reduced to five athletes after three false starts, Gurvindervir Singh stayed focused to rocket off the blocks and crossed the finish line in 6.60 seconds to win gold. His gold-winning time was better than the previous national 60m indoor record of 6.67 seconds, set by VK Elakkiadasan in 2022.
“It was a good start to the 2026 season. I hope to sustain my efforts in outdoor races,” the eventual winner said of posting a national 60m indoor record in his first race of the season. Gurvindervir Singh represented Reliance in the competition.
The men’s 60m dash was anticipated to be an exciting race. But three false starts cost national outdoor champion and hot favourite Animesh Kujur dearly. He was the third sprinter to be disqualified.
Odisha’s Dondapti Mrutyam Jayaram and Karnataka’s Nehal Sagar were the other two sprinters disqualified due to a false start. Maharashtra’s 22-year-old Harita Bhandra was the winner of the women’s 60m dash. Harita’s winning time was 7.32 seconds.
Results (Day 2):
Men: 60m: Gurindevir Singh (Reliance) 6.60 seconds, Lalu Prasad Bhoi (Odisha) 6.65 seconds, Nuzrat (Hatyana) 6.71 seconds.
Men: U20 60m: Kshitij Sunil (Maharashtra) 6.78 seconds, Rushiraj Singh (Gujarat) 6.87 seconds, Abhay Singh (Reliance) 6.88 seconds.
Men: 400m: Mohammed Sinan (Reliance) 48.27 seconds, Muhammed Badusha (BSF) 49.83 seconds, Aryan Ekka (Odisha) 49.86 seconds.
Men: U20: 400m: Umesh Sahani (Uttar Pradesh) 49.14 seconds, Bapi Hansda (Odisha) 49.27 seconds, Pradeep Mane (Maharashtra) 51.66 seconds.
Men: 1500m: Vinod Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 3:46.13 seconds, Jagdish (Air Force) 3:50.11 seconds, Sunil Yadav (Rajasthan) 3:50.56 seconds.
Men: U20: 3,000m: Dolamani Chirgun (Odisha) 8:39.13 seconds, Bitto Joseph (Kerala) 8:40.32 seconds, Ajay (Uttar Pradesh) 8:41.02.
Men: Triple jump: Vimal Mukesh (Navy) 15.41m, Robinson S (Tamil Nadu) 14.67m, Naresh Rohidas (Odisha) 13.92m.
Men: Pole vault: Reegan G (Tamil Nadu) 5.30m, Rambeer Singh (Army) 4.85m, Bineesh Jacob (Railway) 4.55m.
Men: High jump: Swadhin Kumar Majhi (Odisha) 2.18m, Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Maharashtra) 2.15m, Dhairyshil D (Maharashtra) 2.15m.
Men: U20: High jump: Basant (Rajasthan) 2.16m, Sagar Roy (West Bengal) 2.05m, Ankit Kumar (Rajasthan) 1.90m.
Women: 60m: Harita Bhandra (Maharashtra) 7.32 seconds, Unnathi Bollanda (Karnataka) 7.46 seconds, Trisha Nair (Maharashtra) 7.62 seconds.
Women: U20: 60m: Kajal Hirabhai Vaja (Gujarat) 7.50 seconds, Mansi Rajak (Madhya Pradesh) 7.55 seconds, Heeral Johri (Madhya Pradesh) 7.75 seconds.
Women: 400m: Kumari Saloni Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) 55.73 seconds, Sukhi Baskey (Odisha) 55.67 seconds, Unnathi Bollanda (Karnataka) 56.45 seconds.
Women: U20: 400m: Sai Chinthana Senthil (Tamil Nadu) 59.96 seconds, Arpita (Odisha) 1:00.48 seconds.
Women: 1500m: Priyanka C (Karnataka) 4:34.31 seconds.
Women: Triple Jump: Mallala Anusha (JSW) 13.20m, Nimisha Dayma (JSW) 12.93m, Bhairabi Roy (West Bengal) 12.81m.
Women: High jump: Payal Jamod (Gujarat) 1.71m, Kevinna Ashwine (Tamil Nadu) 1.71m, Pramilla Rajgar (West Bengal) 1.68m.
Women: U20: High jump: Arpita Sarkar (West Bengal) 1.68m, Juin Mantusa (West Bengal) 1.60m, Anrisha Klein (Meghalaya) 1.60m.
(IANS)
