How Gulveer's Colorado Springs grind helped him strike it rich

• India’s athletics medal haul fell to 24 at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from 29 in Hangzhou, but its distance runners delivered notable breakthroughs.

• Gulveer Singh led the way with three medals — silver in 10,000 m and 1,500 m and bronze in 5,000 m — while marathoner Sawan Barwal and Seema Kumari also made their mark.

• Coach Scott Simmons credits sustained, high-altitude training in Colorado Springs and greater institutional support for athletes’ progress, says the group now has the belief to target Los Angeles 2028.

The balance sheet for India in track and field at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games reflects a fall in both the overall medal count — 24 compared with 29 in Hangzhou — and gold medals, with only one against six three years ago. However, the breakthrough performances in distance running in Japan were hard to miss, with Gulveer Singh emerging as the standout among the men with three medals, alongside marathon champion Sawan Barwal and Seema Kumari.

Gulveer produced one of the most impressive track performances in Nagoya, racing four times in five days and returning with three medals — silver in the 10,000 m and 1,500 m and bronze in the 5,000 m. The Army man’s haul came after his historic two-medal performance at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he won silver in the 10,000 m and bronze in the 5,000 m, further underlining his growing status as a potential world-class athlete.

If Sawan ended a 44-year wait since the Delhi Asiad to win the marathon, Seema secured bronze in the arduous 10,000 m.

Their intensive training at high altitude in Colorado Springs, US, under celebrated coach Scott Simmons has clearly paid dividends, and the latter is not surprised by their success. Speaking to SAI Media, Simmons said the specific plan for Gulveer was to build him for the rigours of the 10,000 m, which also contributed to his performances over shorter distances.

Speaking to SAI Media, Simmons said the specific plan for Gulveer was to build him for the rigours of the 10,000m, which also contributed to his performances over shorter distances.

“The plan proved to be very successful,” Simmons said. “We obviously prepared 100 per cent for the 10,000 m. Gulveer gave his best challenge, ending up with the silver. We thought that was his best event, but it also prepared him for the 1,500 m as a byproduct.”

Gulveer’s three Asiad medals represented a significant progression from his 10,000 m bronze at the 2022 Hangzhou Games. Simmons recalled observing India’s distance runners when he first came to Bengaluru in early 2022 and described the discipline as a “sleeping giant”, but said the athletes needed time, support and consistent training to realise their potential.

“We just needed the time and the support from the Indian government, from Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), and other stakeholders to give these athletes the opportunity to do the correct training, give them time to develop and continue the consistency,” he said.

The AFI’s decision, with the support of the Union sports ministry, to send athletes such as Gulveer back to the US for a continuous six-month training stint has clearly paid dividends.

“I think in the past, there was no consistency. There was always a late rush to get fitness for Asian Championships and Asian Games, whereas in distance running in particular, it's like building a house. You're always building the house. And when you're not building the house, then you're tearing down the house,” Simmons said in a video conference ahead of his flight home from Nagoya. “And Gulveer's done such a good job of continuing one step after another after another.”

The same training environment has also been important for Sawan, who delivered another landmark performance in Nagoya.

“He (Barwal) does have some struggles because he’s still young and he’s still new to the distance. But this was a very good build-up. It’ll be better the next time, for sure. He can make further gains through more marathon-specific preparation and hopes that progression can eventually lead to qualification for the Beijing World Championships,” Simmons said.

“When we all pull together and we train together, then everybody improves and everybody can get to this next level. And we saw that obviously with the Indians’ performance here in Nagoya,” he said.

Looking ahead to Los Angeles 2028, Simmons said the Indian athletes training in Colorado Springs now had the belief that they could qualify, even as the qualification standards became increasingly demanding.

“They believe they can qualify and qualifying is more difficult than it’s ever been,” Simmons said, adding that he wanted a few other promising runners to join the group in the build-up to the Games.