Mind Over Matter: How Gurindervir overcame a Confidence Dip to Make Himself the Fastest Indian

Sports is not just a physical activity. It’s a wonderful coordination between mind and body. The one who excel in any of the Sports be it a team event like Cricket and Football or individual sports like sprinting, nurture a perfect balance of mind and body to produce some astonishing results which are cherished by millions. The story of Gurindervir Singh reflects how it was his mind which was getting in way of crossing the finishing line in record time and his journey to overcome the hurdle of mind to achieve the unthinkable.

The reigning outdoor 100m world champions are Jamaica’s Oblique Seville (Men’s) and the USA’s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (Women’s), both of whom won gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Gurindervir’s 10.09s is close and promising, which he clocked at Federation Cup in Ranchi in record time.

By crossing the line in 10.09 seconds, Gurindervir comfortably breached the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) qualification standard of 10.16 seconds for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and also secured his qualification for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan. Before Gurindervir, Animesh Kujur held the national record with a time of 10.15 seconds, achieved in the same competition.

From Village Ground to National Landscape

As a 12-year-old son, Gurindervir was admitted to the Guru Nanak Mission School at Dalla, which was around 13 kms away from his village. For his early training, the muddy village ground became his training arena.

Gurindervir joined Cambridge School in Jalandhar while he was in X standard and came under the wings of coach Sarabjit Singh Happy.

The coach proved to be a father figure for the budding sprinter. The dedication of the Gurindervir prompted Coach Happy to manage his daily rountine including the nutrition. Under Coach Happy, the junior athlete soon began to exhibit spectacular performances.

Crossing the hurdle of mind

After breaking the national record last year, something unexpected happen. Someone made a nasty remark about his appearance. This disturbed him immensely. Gurindervir stopped looking at mirror, rather he used to look down. Losing confidence rapidly, the promising athlete soon confided in his coach James Hillier who counselled him on ignoring foolish people.

The mind was back on trach and the rest is history.

Gurindervir is on the verge of opening a new chapter for Indian sprinting. The mind and body both are being trained hard.