Three races. Three medals. Gulveer Singh turned a gruelling athletics campaign in Nagoya into a memorable chapter for Indian distance running.
In the soft drizzle of a Tuesday evening in Nagoya, while India’s athletics campaign seemed to be running out of answers, one man kept going.
Gulveer Singh did not enter the 5,000m final as the favourite. He arrived after two demanding races already behind him. He had won silver in the 10,000m and another silver in the 1,500m barely 24 hours earlier, setting a personal best of 3:36.72.
Now came the 5,000m.
The 28-year-old armyman from Aligarh knew what was at stake. His legs were tired. The final was tactical. The weather was wet. And after coming close to gold twice, he had one more chance to complete a rare medal treble.
For the first few laps, the field stayed together. Then the pace began to change.
Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew, who had already beaten Gulveer to gold in the 10,000m, remained among the leading runners. Japan’s Tomonori Yamaguchi stayed close. Gulveer held his position and waited.
With 600 metres left, the race opened up.
Balew accelerated. Yamaguchi followed. Gulveer stayed in the fight.
The final stretch became a battle for the remaining podium place. Gulveer held off the challenge from behind and crossed the line in 13:32.75.
Bronze.
It was his third medal of the Games and completed a remarkable treble across the 10,000m, 1,500m and 5,000m.
There was no dramatic celebration. Just the satisfaction of a runner who had pushed through three difficult races and refused to leave the track without another medal.
Three races, three medals
Gulveer’s campaign was not built around one dominant performance. It was built around consistency under pressure.
India’s men collected only three athletics medals at these Games, and Gulveer won all three. Two were silver. One was bronze.
That alone gives his campaign a place in India’s recent distance-running story.
Gulveer is already the national record holder in the 5,000m and 10,000m. But his approach remains strikingly simple.
“Winning this bronze feels good,” he said afterwards. “I don’t keep track of records. I just try to give my best every time I run.”
Then came the more personal part.
“I have been away from my family and this medal is for them.”
For an athlete who has spent long periods training away from home, the words offered a glimpse into what sits behind the numbers.
His preparation has included training at altitude in Colorado Springs, where the thin air is used by elite endurance athletes to build aerobic capacity. That preparation was tested in Nagoya, where he had to recover quickly and race again while carrying the fatigue of the previous events.
From disappointment to another chapter
Gulveer’s journey has also been shaped by setbacks.
After the disappointment of Hangzhou, he returned to training with the aim of improving across distances. The 1,500m silver was particularly significant because of the demands of speed and recovery involved in competing at that level.
Then came the 5,000m final.
By the time the last lap arrived, there was little left to save. Gulveer simply had to race with what remained.
That is what made the bronze significant. It was not the result of one fresh performance. It came after two medals, two demanding races and another fight against exhaustion.
India has produced several notable distance runners across the years. Hari Chand made his mark in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 1978 Asian Games. Other Indian athletes have since carried the country’s distance-running hopes across different events.
Gulveer now adds his own chapter.
His three-medal campaign also shows how far Indian distance running has travelled. The national records he holds in the 5,000m and 10,000m are part of that progress, but so is his ability to compete repeatedly against strong Asian fields.
The value of staying in the race
Gulveer does not have the profile of a sprinter who can change a race in seconds. His strength lies in endurance, discipline and the ability to maintain his effort when the body begins to resist.
That quality was visible in Nagoya.
The rain did not make the race easier. Neither did the short recovery between events. He still returned to the track and competed.
For young athletes watching from Aligarh and other smaller cities and towns, there is a lesson in that approach.
Talent matters. So does training. But distance running also demands the willingness to keep going when the race becomes uncomfortable and the podium is no longer guaranteed.
Gulveer’s campaign was built on that willingness.
India’s athletics story at these Games will also be remembered for the women’s 4x400m gold that brought a major moment on the track. But Gulveer’s three medals deserve their own place in the story.
He did not leave Nagoya with gold.
He left with three medals, two national records behind him, and another reminder that Indian distance running can produce athletes capable of competing across demanding events.
For Gulveer Singh, the race was never only about one finish line.
It was about returning to the track each time and giving himself another chance.
And in Nagoya, three times was enough to make history.
In the soft drizzle of a Tuesday evening in Nagoya, while India’s athletics campaign seemed to be running out of answers, one man kept going.
Gulveer Singh did not enter the 5,000m final as the favourite. He arrived after two demanding races already behind him. He had won silver in the 10,000m and another silver in the 1,500m barely 24 hours earlier, setting a personal best of 3:36.72.
Now came the 5,000m.
The 28-year-old armyman from Aligarh knew what was at stake. His legs were tired. The final was tactical. The weather was wet. And after coming close to gold twice, he had one more chance to complete a rare medal treble.
For the first few laps, the field stayed together. Then the pace began to change.
Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew, who had already beaten Gulveer to gold in the 10,000m, remained among the leading runners. Japan’s Tomonori Yamaguchi stayed close. Gulveer held his position and waited.
With 600 metres left, the race opened up.
Balew accelerated. Yamaguchi followed. Gulveer stayed in the fight.
The final stretch became a battle for the remaining podium place. Gulveer held off the challenge from behind and crossed the line in 13:32.75.
Bronze.
It was his third medal of the Games and completed a remarkable treble across the 10,000m, 1,500m and 5,000m.
There was no dramatic celebration. Just the satisfaction of a runner who had pushed through three difficult races and refused to leave the track without another medal.
Three races, three medals
Gulveer’s campaign was not built around one dominant performance. It was built around consistency under pressure.
India’s men collected only three athletics medals at these Games, and Gulveer won all three. Two were silver. One was bronze.
That alone gives his campaign a place in India’s recent distance-running story.
Gulveer is already the national record holder in the 5,000m and 10,000m. But his approach remains strikingly simple.
“Winning this bronze feels good,” he said afterwards. “I don’t keep track of records. I just try to give my best every time I run.”
Then came the more personal part.
“I have been away from my family and this medal is for them.”
For an athlete who has spent long periods training away from home, the words offered a glimpse into what sits behind the numbers.
His preparation has included training at altitude in Colorado Springs, where the thin air is used by elite endurance athletes to build aerobic capacity. That preparation was tested in Nagoya, where he had to recover quickly and race again while carrying the fatigue of the previous events.
From disappointment to another chapter
Gulveer’s journey has also been shaped by setbacks.
After the disappointment of Hangzhou, he returned to training with the aim of improving across distances. The 1,500m silver was particularly significant because of the demands of speed and recovery involved in competing at that level.
Then came the 5,000m final.
By the time the last lap arrived, there was little left to save. Gulveer simply had to race with what remained.
That is what made the bronze significant. It was not the result of one fresh performance. It came after two medals, two demanding races and another fight against exhaustion.
India has produced several notable distance runners across the years. Hari Chand made his mark in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 1978 Asian Games. Other Indian athletes have since carried the country’s distance-running hopes across different events.
Gulveer now adds his own chapter.
His three-medal campaign also shows how far Indian distance running has travelled. The national records he holds in the 5,000m and 10,000m are part of that progress, but so is his ability to compete repeatedly against strong Asian fields.
The value of staying in the race
Gulveer does not have the profile of a sprinter who can change a race in seconds. His strength lies in endurance, discipline and the ability to maintain his effort when the body begins to resist.
That quality was visible in Nagoya.
The rain did not make the race easier. Neither did the short recovery between events. He still returned to the track and competed.
For young athletes watching from Aligarh and other smaller cities and towns, there is a lesson in that approach.
Talent matters. So does training. But distance running also demands the willingness to keep going when the race becomes uncomfortable and the podium is no longer guaranteed.
Gulveer’s campaign was built on that willingness.
India’s athletics story at these Games will also be remembered for the women’s 4x400m gold that brought a major moment on the track. But Gulveer’s three medals deserve their own place in the story.
He did not leave Nagoya with gold.
He left with three medals, two national records behind him, and another reminder that Indian distance running can produce athletes capable of competing across demanding events.
For Gulveer Singh, the race was never only about one finish line.
It was about returning to the track each time and giving himself another chance.
And in Nagoya, three times was enough to make history.
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