New Delhi: Indian athletics witnessed a historic moment on Saturday as Gurvinder Vir Singh became the fastest Indian ever in the men’s 100m, drawing a rapturous response from the cricket legend. Sachin Tendulkar on social media.Gurvinder Veer clocked a sensational 10.09 seconds during the National Senior Federation competition, breaking the national record and becoming the first Indian sprinter to run under the 10.10 seconds mark.Tendulkar took to X to praise the Punjab sprinter for his outstanding achievement.“Incredibly proud of Girinder Vir Singh for becoming the fastest Indian ever. What a fantastic achievement. Keep running, champ!” Sachin posted pictures of the race.The record was broken twice in a dramatic showdown.The men’s 100m battle between Gurvinder Vir and Animesh Kajor turned out to be one of the most memorable sprint events in the history of Indian athletics.Animesh went into the event as the national record holder last year after clocking 10.18 seconds and was widely considered favourite.But the drama began on Friday when 25-year-old Gurinder Veer broke the national record by running 10.17 seconds in the semi-finals.Incredibly, just five minutes later, Animesh promptly reclaimed the record, clocking 10.15 seconds in another semi-final heat.The national record was broken twice in minutes.However, Gurinder Vir saved his best for the final on Saturday. The sprinter from Punjab won in 10.09 seconds, comfortably edging out Animesh and cementing his name firmly in the history of Indian athletics.Asia’s second fastest time this seasonGurvinder Vir’s timing is now the second fastest in Asia this season, behind only Japanese teenager Fukuto Komuro, who clocked 10.08 seconds earlier this year.The Indian sprinter also comfortably broke the Athletics Federation of India qualifying mark of 10.16 seconds for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.Meanwhile, Pranav Gaurav finished third in the final with a time of 10.29 seconds.
