Background
Gurindervir Singh was born in Punjab on December 24, 2000, and came into athletics through sprinting before establishing himself as a 100m specialist. He trains under British coach James Hillier and has been part of the high-performance programme in Bhubaneswar. Gurindervir holds the Indian 100m national record of 10.09 seconds, set in May 2026, and also holds the national indoor 60m record. He is a two-time national champion and Asian U20 Championships bronze medallist.
Breakthrough and records
His breakthrough came at the 2026 National Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi, where he ran 10.09 seconds in the 100m — setting a new Indian national record and becoming the first Indian to break 10.10 seconds under legal wind conditions. He also holds the national indoor 60m record of 6.60 seconds, set in 2026 at the Indian Open Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar. The 100m mark significantly lowered the previous Indian benchmark and placed him at the centre of India’s new sprint generation.
Current season
The 2026 season opened indoors with a 6.60-second national record in the 60m at the Indian Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar. He then lowered the outdoor 100m national record to 10.09 seconds at the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi. He finished second in the 100m at the Indian Athletics Final Series in New Delhi in 10.32 seconds. He is now preparing for the Asian Games 100m in September.
In their own words
“People used to tell me there is no future in 100m, Indians can’t run 100m, Indians don’t have the genes for sprinting. I wanted to prove them wrong.” — Gurindervir Singh, speaking to NNIS Sports, May 2023, reflecting on his ambition in the 100m, three years before he broke the Indian national record, first with 10.17s and then 10.09s in May 2026.
