Ranchi, May 24 -- Indian athletics may look back at Saturday as a turning point.
Within a few hours at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Championships at Birsa Munda Stadium, three national records fell, barriers once considered distant were broken, and a new generation of athletes announced its arrival on the national stage.
At the centre of it all was Punjab sprinter Gurindervir Singh, who produced the fastest 100-metre run ever by an Indian. The 24-year-old clocked 10.09 seconds to win gold and become the first Indian athlete to break the 10.1-second barrier.
The achievement capped an extraordinary two-day duel with Odisha's Animesh Kujur. On Friday, Gurindervir had lowered the national record to 10.17 seconds, only for Ku...