Bhubaneswar 25.03.2026 [ADN]
Punjab’s 26-year-old international sprinter Gurvindervir Singh displayed resilience to walk away with the men’s 60m title on the final day of the two-day first National Indoor Athletics Championships here at Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.
In a thrilling 60m final reduced to five athletes after three false starts, Gurvinder Singh stayed focused to rocket off the blocks, and crossed the finish line in 6.60 seconds to win gold. His gold-winning time was better than the previous national 60m indoor record of 6.67 seconds, set by VK Elakkiadasan in 2022. “It was a good start to the 2026 season. I hope to sustain my efforts in outdoor races,” the eventual winner said of posting a national 60m indoor record in his first race of the season. Gurvindervir Singh represented Reliance in the competition.
The men’s 60m dash was anticipated to be an exciting race. But three false starts cost national outdoor champion and hot favourite Animesh Kujur dearly. He was the third sprinter to be disqualified. Odisha’s Dondapti Mrutyam Jayaram and Karnataka’s Nehal Sagar were other two sprinters disqualified due to false start.
Maharashtra’s 22-year-old Harita Bhandra was winner of women’s 60m dash. Harita’s winning time was 7.32 seconds.
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