Gurindervir smashes men’s 100m national record, clocks 10.20s at IGP 1

Gurindervir Singh stormed into the record books, smashing the men’s 100m national record with a blistering 10.20-second run in a top-class field at the Indian Grand Prix 1, here on Friday.

The 24-year-old Punjab sprinter, representing Reliance, eclipsed the previous national mark of 10.23 seconds set by Manikanta Hoblidhar in October 2023.

Singh’s previous personal best stood at 10.27 seconds -- clocked in 2021.

“I’m extremely happy to have posted a good time in the IGP ahead of the Federation Cup in April,” Singh said after the race.

“I wanted to run a fast race but the national record was a bonus. I should be able to do better at the Federation Cup (April 21-24 in Kochi),” he added.

He said his main goal this season is to do his best at the Asian Athletics Championships to be held in Gumi, South Korea, in May.

Hoblidhar, also of Reliance, finished a close second with a time of 10.22 seconds which also bettered his own earlier national record by 0.01 seconds in the men’s 100m Final Race D.

Running side by side in lanes 5 and 6, Singh and Hoblidhar were neck-and-neck from the beginning but the former won the race, bettering the earlier national record by 0.03 seconds.

Reliance swept the top-three spots as another top sprinter Amlan Borgohain took the third spot with a time of 10.43 seconds.

The trio and Animesh Kujur have been India’s top 100m runners for some time. Kujur did not take part in this event.

Singh had earlier won 100m gold in the 2021 and 2024 National Inter-State Championships, as well as in the 2024 Federation Cup.

Telangana’s Nithya Gandhe emerged the fastest female runner of the IGP 1, clocking 11.41 seconds in the 100m dash.