India, Sept. 29 -- It may not have been a hattrick of the gleaming medal kind. But Gulveer Singh's treble at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was of the grittiest kind. Amid India's subdued track and field performances - his two silver and a bronze were the only medals by Indian men on the track this time - he showed it wasn't just talent or calibre, it was also about not giving up.

On Tuesday, as Gulveer lined up for the 5,000m final - his fourth race in five days - there was a lingering concern whether India's top distance runner will have the legs to last the distance. After all, he saved the blushes for the middle-distance specialists by nailing the 1,500m silver barely 24 hours earlier, that too with a personal best, a creditable 3 min,...