Gulveer Singh Wins 10,000m Silver as India Reaches 22 Medals at Asian Games 2026

India's long-distance runner Gulveer Singh clinched the silver medal in the men's 10,000m event at the Asian Games 2026 at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Friday.

The 28-year-old runner clocked 28:29.38 to finish second behind Bahrain's Birhanu Balew, who produced a late surge to win gold in 28:27.51. Balew's compatriot Albert Kiptoo claimed bronze with a timing of 28:34.38, according to ESPN.

Gulveer, a Naib Subedar in the Indian Army, stayed with the leading pack for much of the race and remained in contention until the closing stages. Balew pulled away over the final stretch, but Gulveer held on comfortably to secure silver.

Gulveer Improves on Asian Games Bronze

The medal marks an improvement for Gulveer from the previous edition, where he won bronze in the men's 10,000m at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The Indian runner has enjoyed a strong run of form in recent years. He won gold medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.

At the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Gulveer became the first Indian to win two medals in track events at a single edition of the Games, taking silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m.

Earlier, he had won bronze in the men's 5,000m at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok.

Pooja Finishes Sixth in Heptathlon 800m

Meanwhile, India's Pooja finished sixth in the women's heptathlon 800m with a time of 2:16.43, while Anamika Aneesh finished eighth.

India added another athletics medal on Friday, with Manpreet Kaur winning bronze in the women's shot put.

Manpreet produced a best throw of 17.17m, while Krishna Jayasankar Menon finished fifth with a throw of 16.57m.

India at Asian Games 2026

At the time of writing, India had won 22 medals at the Asian Games, comprising two gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals, and stood 12th in the standings.