CWG 2026: Gulvir Singh creates history in 5000m, becomes first Indian to win two medals in the same edition

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Gulveer Singh: Indian long-distance runner Gulveer Singh etched his name in the pages of history on Saturday. He became the first Indian athlete to win a medal in the men’s 5000 meters at the Commonwealth Games. Gulveer, the reigning Asian champion, won a bronze medal in the event. With this, he repeated his impressive performance at the mega-event, securing a double medal, having previously won a silver medal in the men’s 10,000 meters.

With this major achievement, Gulvir Singh has also become the first Indian athlete in Commonwealth Games history to win two track and field medals in a single edition
. This is a historic and milestone achievement in the history of Indian athletics.

On the final day of athletics competition, Gulveer clocked 13:24.95 to finish third in the men’s 5000m final. Kenya’s Matthew Kipchumba Kipsang won the gold medal in 13:23.61, while Australia’s Kai Robinson (who had previously won the 10,000m title) took the silver in 13:24.70.

Gulveer overtook his Kenyan rival in a closely fought race.
The 28-year-old Indian sprinter, who is also the national record holder in both the 5000m and 10,000m events, stayed with the leading group throughout the race and produced a strong finish in the final lap. Gulveer showed great composure in the final stages and edged out Kenya’s Cornelius Kemboi by just 0.04 seconds to take the bronze medal. Kemboi had clocked a personal best of 12:56.02 earlier this year but missed the podium.

It is worth noting that Gulveer’s medal-winning time was below his best this year (13:03.93) and his national record (12:59.77), yet it proved enough to create history for Indian athletics.

Earlier, this Indian sprinter had won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, after which he has now won a silver and a bronze at this Commonwealth Games.

Praveen Chitravel and Selva Prabhu also raised India’s pride
Saturday was a very successful day for India in athletics. In men’s triple jump, Praveen Chitravel won the silver medal with a brilliant effort of 16.58 meters. His fellow athlete Selva Prabhu Thirumaran won the bronze medal by jumping 16.52 meters, which is the biggest international medal of his career. Jordan Scott of Jamaica won the gold medal in this event with a best effort of 16.72 meters.

Soman Rana and Shubham Juyal shine in Para Athletics
India’s dominance was also seen in the Para Athletics competition. In the men’s F57 shot put event, Soman Rana won the gold medal with a season’s best throw of 13.40m. His fellow Indian athlete Shubham Juyal won the silver medal for the country with a season’s best effort of 13.28m. In this way, India achieved a one-two finish in this event. Cameroon’s Cedric Azadji won the bronze medal with 12.57m.

India’s mixed performance in other events In other events
, Priyanka Goswami finished seventh in the women’s 10,000m race walk with her season’s best (45:53.93), while fellow athlete Raveena was disqualified. In the men’s pole vault, national record holder Dev Kumar Meena finished fourth with a jump of 5.30m, while Kuldeep Kumar finished sixth with a clearance of 5.10m.

Additionally, the Indian mixed 4x400m relay team of Vishal TK, Ansa Babu, Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan, and Rashdeep Kaur finished sixth with a time of 3:20.32. Although there were no gold medals in the able-bodied category this time in athletics, India finished its campaign with a total of 10 medals (five silver and five bronze).

This was India’s second-highest and best medal haul in athletics at the Commonwealth Games after the 12 medals won in 2010 in New Delhi.

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