Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar could not contain his excitement after Punjabi sprinter Gurindervir Singh shattered the national athletics framework, officially crowning himself as the fastest man in Indian history.
Competing at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi, the 25-year-old athlete pulled off a historic feat by stopping the clock at a spectacular 10.09 seconds in the men’s 100m final – becoming the first-ever Indian runner to breach the sub-10.10-second barrier.
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Akshay Kumar’s Heartfelt Tribute
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Akshay shared a picture of the victorious sprinter, expressing how deeply moved he was by the groundbreaking athletic achievement. The actor noted that Gurindervir’s historic race has permanently crushed the outdated stereotype that Indian genes are not naturally built for short-distance sprinting events:
“Was reading about Gurindervir Singh, who has become India’s fastest man alive, and am seriously blown away. For years and years, we saw foreign athletes win 100m races and break records. Tab sab kehte the Indians se nahi hoga. Ab sab keh rahe hain yeh toh hona hi thaa (Then everyone used to say Indians could not do it. Now everyone is saying this was bound to happen).”
He concluded his emotional note by adding, “So proud of you young man. Even prouder that you are from our armed forces. Punjabiyan di shaan vakhri (The pride of Punjabis is truly unmatched).”
Was reading about Gurindervir Singh who has become India’s fastest man alive, and am seriously blown away. For years and years, we saw foreign athletes win 100m races and break records. Tab sab kehte the Indians se nahi hoga. Ab sab keh rahe hain yeh toh hona hi thaa! So proud of… pic.twitter.com/MK2BR6QOgs
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) May 28, 2026
Beyond his skyrocketing athletics career, Gurindervir also serves the nation uniformly as a Petty Officer in the Indian Navy. His military background quickly drew parallels to the legendary “Flying Sikh” Milkha Singh, who similarly discovered his iconic sprinting powers while serving within the Indian military ranks.
Defying the Doubters
Gurindervir’s road to the history books was filled with systemic skepticism. The sprinter recalled that when he initially dedicated himself to track and field at the age of 13, multiple track coaches actively discouraged him from pursuing the 100m dash.
“They told me there’s no future in the 100m for us. They said Indians didn’t have the specific body type or genetics for it and that I should switch to the 400m instead,” Gurindervir revealed in a post-race interview. “But I wanted to prove them wrong. I wanted to prove Indian genes are incredibly strong.”
