National record holder and reigning Asian champion Gulveer Singh failed to achieve the Asian Games qualifying standard in the men’s 5000m event at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.
The 26-year-old runner won the race in 13:52.92, but fell short of the qualifying mark of 13:39.18 set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
Despite the setback, Gulveer remains in contention for selection, having previously bettered the qualifying standard at competitions in the United States earlier this year.
Gulveer, who holds the national record in the 5000m, is also preparing for upcoming international events, including the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.