Gulveer Singh completes Asian Games treble with 5,000m bronze

Gulveer Singh completed a treble at the Asian Games on Tuesday, winning bronze in the men's 5000m to add to the silver medals he secured in the 1500m and 10,000m. In doing so, he became only the second Indian man and the fourth Indian overall to win three athletics medals at a single edition of the Asian Games.

Gulveer attributed part of his performance to a strictly vegetarian diet and to a small religious icon that provided mental support during the Games. "I don't eat non-vegetarian food. I don't eat eggs also. I am a pure vegetarian. I eat chapati, dal (pulses) and paneer (Indian cottage cheese)," Gulveer said when asked about his diet during the Games. He added that hotel food and supplements supplied adequate protein and that his vegetarian regimen continued while he trained in the USA.

The medal haul came after an intense competition schedule in which Gulveer ran four races in five days, including the 1500m heat, and reached the podium in each of his three entered events. "It's been very tiring because I've had to run four races (in five days), but I'm going back with three medals. I'm very happy because I always wanted to give something back to India, and I've done that with three medals," he said.

Gulveer described his recovery work as a mix of sustained endurance sessions and professional physiotherapy support provided by the Athletics Federation of India. "I have been doing endurance training continuously. The AFI also gave me a dedicated physio, and that helps me also in recovery. I got massages and stretching done," he said.

His three-medal performance places him alongside earlier multi-medal Indian athletes at the Asian Games: Lavy Pinto in 1951, PT Usha in 1986 and KM Beenamol in 2002. Gulveer received his latest medal after applying a traditional tilak, and he said faith played a role in his mindset: "I also keep a statuette of Bajrang Bali (God Hanuman) in my room. I prayed to Him to look after me," he said.

Gulveer contrasted his current confidence with his experience at the 2022 Asian Games, when he described himself as inexperienced and nervous. "Back then, it was new, so I was scared. But now I train daily with Olympic medallists, championship medallists, and I feel that if I'm training with these guys, why can't I compete with them," he said. "So all that (fear) is gone now. My single focus is to deliver for my country."

Looking beyond the Asian Games, Gulveer said his next priorities are qualification targets and choosing the right event focus. "The priority here was obviously to win medals for India, but going forward I have to now achieve the qualification for the world championships, the qualification for the Olympics," he said. "It's about picking and choosing which distance will suit me, which will not suit me. So I'm going to be smart about it."