India’s premier long-distance runner Gulveer Singh may have missed the Asian Games qualification standard at the 65th Interstate Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, but his hopes of representing the country in Aichi-Nagoya 2026 are far from over.
The national record holder won the men’s 5000m title in 13:52.92, comfortably securing gold but falling short of the Athletics Federation of India’s prescribed qualification mark of 13:39.18.
The result came as one of the biggest surprises of the championships, given Gulveer’s outstanding form earlier this season. In February, he rewrote the Indian record books by clocking a stunning 13:03.93, a performance that currently stands as the second-fastest time by an Asian athlete this year and ranks among the world’s top 20 performances in 2026.
With such credentials, questions immediately emerged over whether the 26-year-old could still make the Indian squad despite not achieving the qualification standard at the designated selection event.
According to AFI officials, the final Asian Games team will be determined by the federation’s selection committee, meaning the qualification mark is not necessarily the only factor that will be considered.
That leaves the door open for Gulveer, whose performances throughout the season have established him as India’s leading 5000m runner and one of Asia’s strongest contenders in the event.
Speaking after the race, Gulveer pointed to the challenging conditions in Bhubaneswar as a major factor behind his failure to achieve the standard.
“The weather was quite warm and the track is still new,” he said, explaining that both factors made it difficult to chase a fast time.
While the missed mark is undoubtedly a setback, Gulveer’s season-best remains significantly faster than the qualification standard and strengthens his case ahead of the final selection meeting.
For now, the ball is firmly in the selectors’ court. Gulveer has not secured automatic qualification, but based on his performances this season, he remains one of the strongest candidates to wear Indian colours in the men’s 5000m at the Asian Games 2026.