Gurindervir Singh breaks 100m national record, Vishal clocks sub-45s in 400m

Gurindervir Singh of Punjab (PTI Photo)

Indian athletics witnessed a historic evening at the National Senior Federation Competition on Saturday as Gurindervir Singh shattered the men’s 100m national record with a sensational 10.09-second run, while Vishal TK became the first Indian ever to clock under 45 seconds in the 400m. The action-packed second day also saw Tejaswin Shankar rewrite history in the decathlon by becoming the first Indian to breach the 8000-point mark.

Representing Reliance Foundation, Gurindervir delivered the standout moment of the meet in the men’s 100m final. The Punjab sprinter crossed the finish line in 10.09 seconds, making him the first Indian athlete to break the 10.10-second barrier. His effort is now the second-fastest time recorded by an Asian this season, behind only Japanese sprinter Fukuto Komuro’s 10.08-second run earlier this year.

The 100m competition turned into a dramatic duel between Gurindervir and Animesh Kujur over two days. Gurindervir had first lowered the national record to 10.17 seconds in Friday’s semifinal, only for Animesh to reclaim it minutes later with a 10.15-second effort. However, Gurindervir produced an even faster run in the final on Saturday, finishing comfortably ahead of Animesh and securing a landmark national record.

The timing also comfortably breached the Athletics Federation of India’s Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 10.16 seconds.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s Vishal produced another historic performance in the men’s 400m final. The 22-year-old clocked 44.98 seconds to become the first Indian athlete to complete the one-lap race in under 45 seconds. Vishal had already attracted attention last year after breaking the national record with a 45.12-second run in Chennai, but he raised the bar further on Saturday with a performance that now sits at the top of Asia’s seasonal rankings.

His timing pushed past the previous Asian-leading mark of 45.16 seconds held by Ammar Ismail Ibrahim and also helped him cross the AFI’s 2026 Commonwealth Games qualification standard of 44.96 seconds. Fellow Tamil Nadu runner Rajesh Ramesh finished second in 45.31 seconds, while Uttar Pradesh athlete Jay Kumar claimed third place with a timing of 45.47 seconds.

The historic day did not end there. Asian Games silver medallist Tejaswin Shankar added another milestone to Indian athletics by becoming the country’s first athlete to cross the 8000-point barrier in decathlon. Competing for Reliance Foundation, Tejaswin amassed 8057 points across the 10-event discipline, surpassing his own previous national record of 7947 points set last year. The tally also lifted him to seventh on the all-time Asian list in decathlon.