CWG 2026: Gurindervir Singh finishes second in 100m heat, awaits semifinal qualification

India's fastest man Gurindervir Singh finished second in his opening-round men's 100m heat at the Commonwealth Games, clocking 10.39 seconds. His qualification for the semifinals will be decided after the completion of all 11 heats.

Glasgow: India’s fastest man Gurindervir Singh was well below his personal best as he finished second in his men’s 100m opening-round heat, clocking 10.39 seconds, on the opening day of athletics competition at the Commonwealth Games, here on Monday.

Drawn in lane five in the heat 4, Gurindervir made a decent start and stayed alongside Jamaica’s Rohan Watson through the early stages before the Jamaican powered away over the final 30-35 metres to win comfortably in 10.13 seconds.

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Watson, who has a personal best of 9.91 seconds, opened a gap of around two metres by the finish way ahead.

The race was run with a legal tailwind of 1.9 m/s.

The 25-year-old from Punjab was well off the 10.09 seconds national record he set at the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May, becoming the first Indian to break the 10.10-second barrier.

Gurindervir had first lowered the national record to 10.17 seconds in the opening semifinal of the Federation Cup, eclipsing Animesh Kujur’s previous mark of 10.18 seconds.

Qualification for Tuesday’s semifinals will only be confirmed after the completion of all 11 heats, with 17 athletes advancing from the opening round, while seven athletes have already received byes into the semifinals.

Earlier, Nigeria’s Favour Ashe won the opening heat in 10.10 seconds, ahead of Kenya’s Meshack Babu (10.21s).

In Heat 2, Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu impressed with a winning time of 10.01 seconds, while Mauritius’ Orphée Topize was second in 10.38 seconds.

Heat 3 saw Wales’ Jeremiah Azu take victory in 10.10 seconds, with Canada’s Duan Asemota finishing second in 10.16 seconds.