Who is Gulveer Singh? Indian long-distance runner enters elite list after clinching bronze in men’s 5000m race
Indian long-distance runner Gulveer Singh clinched his third medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Tuesday after he won bronze in the men’s 5000m race.
Gulveer finished in third place with a timing of 13:32.75, finishing behind Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew (Gold) and Tomonori Yamaguchi (Silver) of Japan.
Gulveer Singh is a long-distance runner who is also a Naib Subedar in the Indian Army. When he won bronze in the men’s 5000m on Tuesday, he became the first Indian track athlete since PT Usha in 1986 to win three medals in a single edition of the Asian Games.
Usha had won four gold medals and one silver medal at the Seoul Asian Games in 1986.
Gulveer Singh’s long-distance running career
Coming back to Gulveer, his running ability was identified after he competed in a 12km race during his first Army posting in Arunachal Pradesh in 2018.
He finished first among more than 60 runners, despite having no previous experience in competitive athletics. He was subsequently recommended for specialised training at the Army Sports Institute.
Gulveer has established himself as one of India’s leading distance runners through a series of national records. His 2025 season was significant. He won gold medals in both the 5000m and 10,000m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.
In March 2026, Gulveer became the first Indian to run a half-marathon in under one hour. He clocked 59:42 at the New York City Half Marathon, finishing third and improving the previous Indian record of 1:00:30 set by Avinash Sable in 2020.
A breakthrough 2026 season
Gulveer’s Asian Games medal hat-trick follows another landmark campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
He won silver in the men’s 10,000m and bronze in the 5000m. The 10,000m silver was India’s first-ever medal in the men’s event at the Commonwealth Games.
His Asian Games journey began with a bronze in the men’s 10,000m at Hangzhou in 2023. At the 2026 edition, he improved that result to silver before adding another silver and a bronze across the 1500m and 5000m events.
Gulveer’s latest bronze therefore completes a three-medal campaign in Aichi-Nagoya and adds another milestone to a career that has progressed from Army recruitment races in Uttar Pradesh to national records and podium finishes at the biggest multi-sport events like the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
