Harjit Singh Blazes to 100m Gold, Harmilan Bains Returns at Indian Athletics Series–8

The Indian Athletics Series–8 delivered a day packed with significant performances as sprinter Harjit Singh continued his impressive rise in the men’s 100m, middle-distance star Harmilan Bains marked her long-awaited return to competition, and young hurdler Fasalul Haque rewrote the national record books in the U20 category.

Held at a crucial stage of the domestic season, the meet provided athletes another opportunity to build momentum ahead of the upcoming Inter-State Championships and the selection process for major international events, including the Asian Games. Established names and emerging talents alike seized the spotlight, highlighting the growing depth across Indian athletics.

Punjab sprinter Harjit Singh once again underlined his potential by storming to victory in the men’s 100m with a wind-assisted time of 10.17 seconds.

Although the tailwind reading of +2.1 m/s was marginally above the legal limit required for record purposes, the performance remains one of the fastest recorded by an Indian athlete this season and further confirms Harjit’s outstanding form.

The victory comes just days after he clocked 10.21 seconds at the Punjab State Championships, demonstrating remarkable consistency. Together, the performances suggest that the sprinter is enjoying the finest period of his career and is rapidly emerging as one of the country's most exciting sprint prospects.

Harjit’s story is closely linked with India’s fastest man Gurindervir Singh. Both athletes trained under renowned coach Happy Singh during their formative years, with the coach playing a vital role in developing their sprinting foundations.

While Gurindervir has established himself as the country's leading male sprinter, Harjit is now beginning to make his own mark on the national circuit. His ability to consistently challenge the 10.20-second barrier reflects both his technical improvement and growing confidence.

Though the 10.17-second run will not count as an official personal best due to the wind conditions, it nevertheless serves as another reminder that Indian sprinting is enjoying one of its strongest phases in recent years.

Harmilan Bains Returns After Nearly Two Years

One of the most emotional moments of the meet came with the return of Harmilan Bains to competitive athletics. The Asian Games silver medallist competed for the first time in nearly two years and finished third in the women’s 10,000m with a time of 36:35.45.

Harmilan’s comeback has been eagerly anticipated by Indian athletics fans. One of the country's most accomplished middle-distance runners, she won silver medals in both the 800m and 1500m at the 2023 Asian Games and previously held the national record in the women’s 1500m. Her decision to return in the 10,000m rather than her traditional middle-distance events came as a surprise. The move suggests she may be exploring a transition towards longer-distance races as she rebuilds her competitive fitness and prepares for future international competitions.

The race itself was tightly contested. Ravina claimed victory in 36:34.55, narrowly edging Sanjivani, who finished second in 36:35.33. Harmilan crossed the line just fractions behind the leading pair to secure third place.

While the timing remains some distance away from the Asian Games qualification mark of 33:50.00, the result should be viewed as a positive starting point rather than a measure of immediate expectations.

More importantly, Harmilan is back competing, and her return adds valuable experience and depth to Indian women’s distance running. The coming months will reveal whether she continues her pursuit of longer-distance events or eventually returns to the 800m and 1500m races where she has enjoyed her greatest success.

The standout performance of the day arguably belonged to young hurdler Fasalul Haque, who produced a sensational run in the men’s 110m hurdles to set a new U20 national record. Representing Reliance, the talented athlete clocked 13.61 seconds, improving upon the previous national U20 mark and continuing the remarkable progress currently being witnessed in Indian junior hurdling.

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The previous official record of 13.69 seconds belonged to Yuvaraj S, who established the benchmark at last year’s Junior Federation Cup. Earlier this season, Kiran K had lowered the mark to 13.66 seconds during the Junior Federation Cup.

Fasalul has now pushed the record down even further with his outstanding 13.61-second performance.

The achievement becomes even more significant considering that the athlete who finished second in the race also ran faster than the old national record. Such results underline the intense competition currently developing within the junior hurdles programme.

Indian U20 hurdling is experiencing an unprecedented surge. Over the last year alone, four athletes have collectively produced six performances faster than the previous national record, while the record itself has been broken three separate times.This rapid progression points towards a promising future for the event and suggests India may soon have multiple athletes capable of competing at a high international level.

As the domestic season moves into its decisive phase, the performances of Harjit Singh, Harmilan Bains and Fasalul Haque provided some of the biggest talking points from the Indian Athletics Series–8.

Harjit’s sprinting rise continues to gather momentum, Harmilan’s long-awaited return offers optimism for Indian middle-distance running, and Fasalul’s national record demonstrates the exciting talent emerging through the junior ranks.

Together, their achievements reflected both the strength of India's established athletes and the promise of its next generation, offering encouraging signs as Indian athletics builds towards the major competitions ahead.