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Gurmeet Singh (born 1 July 1985 in Uttarakhand, India) is an Indian athlete who competes in the 20 kilometres race walk event. He is a current Indian record holder in the 20 km race walk, which he set in the Indian Grand Prix I in Patiala in May 2011.[1] Gurmeet is sponsored by the Mittal Champions Trust, an initiative run by steel magnate Lakshmi N. Mittal.[2] He is one of the three Indian athletes who qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in 20 km race walk event with an 'A' qualification standard (1:22:30).[3] He achieved this berth in the 18th Dublin International Grand Prix in Ireland after finishing sixth with a time of 1:22:05.[4]
In the event he clocked a time of 1:23:34 and finished 33rd.[5]
Life and career
Singh was born in a small village in Uttarakhand state. He considers his cousin Surjit Singh, who also is a discus thrower, his inspiration for choosing athletics. He won a silver in the national junior championships in 2000. He finished fifth in the 2001 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Brunei.[6]
His career turned around in late 2010, when he started training at Sports Authority of India, Bangalore centre under the coach Ramakrishnan Gandhi. In March 2012, he walked a time of 1:21:31 at the Asian Championships in Nomi, Japan.[7] He clinched a gold medal in the Asian 20 km race walk championship finishing 1 hour 20 minutes and 29 seconds in Mar 2016. This is the first time such record in 34 years that an Indian won a gold in either an Asian championship or Asian Games event.
Personal life
Singh is married to Deepmala Devi, also a 20 km walker.[7]
References
- ↑ Gurmeet smashes 20km walk national record. The Times of India(4 May 2011).
- ↑ 10 Mittal Champions qualify for London Olympics Games 2012. mittalchampionstrust.com. Mittal Champions Trust(31 March 2012).
- ↑ Berth for Baljinder, silver for Gurmeet. The Hindu(13 March 2012).
- ↑ Victories go to China and Finland in Dublin. iaaf.org. IAAF(27 June 2011).
- ↑ Gurmeet Singh Bio, Stats, and Results. Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
- ↑ Gurmeet Singh. intoday.in India Today(16 March 2012).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The loneliness of the long-distance walkers(July 7, 2012).