Pehle main Indian Army ka jawaan hoon, phir athlete: Gulveer Singh after creating history at CWG

Having become the first Indian to win a medal at the CWG 10,000m event, Gulveer Singh opens up about his historic feat, the journey behind it and what keeps him going.

Under a relentless Scottish drizzle, on a track slick with rain and history, Gulveer Singh did what no Indian man before him had ever accomplished. When he crossed the finish line in 27:49.78 to claim a sensational 10,000m silver at the Commonwealth Games, he crashed into one of Indian sport’s most elite clubs. He is now the first Indian to have won a Commowealth Games 10,000m medal. The 28-year-old has thus been the topic of chatter on social media, as he has joined the legendary sprinter Milkha Singh and steeplechaser Avinash Sable, by becoming the third Indian male track athlete in history to secure a CWG podium finish.

Gulveer won the silver medal in men’s 10000m event.

“Jab daud raha tha tab yeh nahi soch raha tha ki kaunsa medal jeetunga,” Gulveer recalls, as the adrenaline still coursing through him. He adds, “Ek hi cheez thi dimaag mein ki jitni tez daud sakoon, daudoon. But when I crossed the line and saw the Indian flag rising across the stands... that’s when it hit me (what I have achieved).”

As big as the occasion was, the conditions were brutal. Rain pouring down hard on the tracks and a weather that was freezing and relentless. These conditions are not common back home where he trained, but hardships are where Gulveer thrives as his foundation was forged in the Indian Army back in 2018.“Pehle main Indian Army ka jawaan hoon, phir athlete hoon,” says Gulveer, sharing how he learnt that mental toughness isn’t an advantage but a prerequisite to fight it out. “The day I joined the Army, the thought of life being easy was wiped clean from my head. The harder things get, the tougher I become... Baarish hi toh thi, daudne se thodi na rok deti,” adds the Naib Subedar.

Despite his hardened exterior, the boy from Uttar Pradesh’s Atrauli couldn’t hold back the tide of emotions that hit him after he crossed the finishing line. Gulveer began the final lap in third, trailing Australia’s Ky Robinson and Kenya’s Edwin Kurgat. Then came his decisive move when around 200 metres were left, and he accelerated on the outside to overtake Kurgat and surged into second. He dropped to his knees on the slick, wet track, putting his forehead to the ground in reverence and relief. “I run for the nation, but my family runs for me in their own way,” he shares softly, elucidating, “For months on end, I am away from them. Yaad aati hai bahut toh aankh bharr aati hai. I call them up, and they tell me, ‘Don’t worry, you run and then when the time is right, just come back to us with a medal. We are waiting,’ So when I’m in those final few metres and meri laaton mein aag jaisa lag raha hota hai, that (my family) is where I draw my strength from.”

The silver is secured, but the job isn’t done. “Kal 5K race hai... bhagwan ka naam lunga aur phir daud lagaunga.”