The first major surprise of the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships came in the men’s 5000m, as India’s national record holder Gulveer Singh failed to secure the qualification standard for the 2026 Asian Games.
Gulveer, one of India’s most consistent distance runners in recent years, clocked 13:52.92 to win the event but fell well short of the Asian Games qualification mark of 13:39.18.
The result comes as a setback for the national record holder, who was widely expected to comfortably achieve the standard at the championships.
Speaking after the race, Gulveer pointed to the challenging conditions, saying that the weather was unusually warm and made it difficult to produce a faster time.
The silver medal was claimed by Abhishek Pal, who finished second in 13:54.18, while the rest of the field trailed behind in what turned out to be a tactical rather than a fast-paced race.
With the qualification window still open, Gulveer will have further opportunities to chase the Asian Games standard. However, his failure to achieve the mark at the Inter-State Championships marks the first significant upset of the meet and highlights the impact that weather and race conditions can have on distance running performances.
For now, one of India’s biggest medal hopes in long-distance running leaves the championships with the title, but without the Asian Games qualification he was targeting.