How Gurindervir Singh transformed Indian sprinting from promise to possibility

At the Federation Cup in 2024, Gurindervir Singh had already shown enough to convince people that he could be the next big thing in Indian sprinting. In that race, he beat Animesh Kujur, one of the country’s brightest sprint prospects who was already training under a high-performance centre, with a timing of 10.35s. But talent has never been enough for Indian sprinters to reach where no one had gone before.

Back then, Gurindervir showed that he had raw talent and physical gifts, but inefficiency and lack of support had marred his preparations. He showed he had what it takes, but a possible timing of 10.20s or lower looked far-fetched.

Almost two years from then, the 25-year-old Gurindervir and Indian sprinting look transformed.

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Gurindervir: India's new sprint king

Within 24 hours recently, during the Federation Cup 2026 in Ranchi, the men’s 100m national record was broken three times. Gurindervir clocked 10.17 seconds in the semi-finals before Reliance Foundations' Animesh responded with 10.15 minutes later. Then came the final, where Gurindervir stormed to 10.09 seconds, the fastest ever by an Indian. First time an Indian had touched a timing lower than 10.10s!

Those who don't follow Athletics closely may not be able to grasp its significance. 10.09 is 0.17 seconds less than 10.26s, a monumental achievement in terms of athletics. The famous 10.26s was Amiya Kumar Mallick's men's 100m national record for seven years before Manikanta Hoblidhar broke it with 10.23s in 2023.

Gurindervir obliterated Manikanta's record with a 10.20s last year in a race the latter, who is also training with the Reliance Foundation, registered a timing of 10.22s. Incredibly, Mallick's men's 100m national record stood for seven years, but it has been broken five times since 2023!

The biggest reason for that acceleration may not just be one athlete, but an ecosystem.

For Gurindervir, the transformation started when he moved into the Reliance Foundation setup, where he began training alongside Animesh, Manikanta and Amlan Borgohain under coach James Hillier, a former British athlete.

The environment at the foundation was a dramatic shift for Gurindervir from what he had previously experienced in Punjab.

“Our track in Punjab was very bad,” he told Firstpost in a media interaction. “I didn’t have any good dietitian, no physio, no good gym. I got very sick. It took one and a half year to recover.”

As he struggled to meet his potential, Gurindervir knew where he wanted to be.

“Whenever I meet Amlan, I always ask, bro, I want to train with you,” Gurindervir said. “Whenever I meet Mani (Manikanta), I always said I want to train with you.”

Gurindervir Singh's rise since joining Reliance

And finally, the dream came true in 2025.

“When I joined Reliance, everything changed,” Gurindervir said. “Good dietitian, good physio, good training, good facility.”

For the foundation and coach Hillier, it was the other way around. They saw immediately that Gurindervir needed substantial technical changes despite the obvious talent.

“When he first joined, around 18 months ago, I wasn't happy with the way he was running," said Reliance Foundation's Athletics Director James Hillier.

"He had good reactive qualities, but his tendons needed improvement. He was muscling his way on the track, but the acceleration was not helping him towards the end. We worked a lot to unlock his tendons and managed his muscles as he was carrying much weight and was probably strong as an ox. However, the power was ineffective. We worked on improving quality and it was a gradual process, as biomechanical adjustments were needed," he added.

It's a great assessment to understand why Indian sprinters are not always performing at the level they are expected to. The best sprinters convert power efficiently while maintaining rhythm at top speed.

Gurindervir, with his natural strength, was able to dominate the first phases of the races, but the inefficiency in movement meant he could not sustain that advantage through the finish.

The foundation worked towards making Gurindervir efficient, and now, at 10.09 seconds, the Punjab athlete is no longer just a leading Indian sprinter, but he has also given us real hope that a sub-10 race is also possible by an Indian!

The fact that he is training with Animesh, Manikanta and Amlan has also made its own contribution. Hillier believes internal competition has become one of the biggest drivers of progress.

“One of the things that I say to all of them is you need your training partners to be better to improve you also,” Hillier explained.

“They’re very good friends,” Hillier said. “But at the same time, when they’re on the track, they want to kill each other.”

Animesh breaking Gurindervir’s national record within minutes during the semi-finals showed exactly how quickly standards are rising within the group. And Hillier’s next target reflects that growing belief.

“I’ve set the target to get four guys under 10.2 this year,” Hillier revealed.

This is the big change in Indian athletics. There was a time when 10.30s or even 10.20s felt like the ceiling; now, we have a culture where a coach is openly targeting four athletes under that mark within a single season. And the good news is, it no longer feels impossible. Even sub-10.10 has been achieved. Sub-10? Let's get that.