India’s Gurindervir Singh suffered an early exit from the 2026 Commonwealth Games after failing to qualify for the men’s 100m semi-final. The 25-year-old clocked 10.39 seconds in his heat, finishing 28th overall, with only the top 17 athletes progressing to the next round. Arriving in Glasgow with hopes of becoming the first Indian to break the elusive 10-second barrier on the international stage, Gurindervir failed to produce his best performance when it mattered most.
Promising start but faded in final meters
Competing from lane five in Heat 4, the Punjab sprinter made a promising start and stayed alongside Jamaica’s Rohan Watson in the opening stages. However, he slipped over the final 30-35 meters as Watson surged ahead to win the heat in 10.13 seconds. Although Gurindervir finished second in his heat, his time was not enough to secure a semi-final. Watson advanced after finishing ninth overall.The national record holder unable to repeat the best formA total of 17 athletes advanced from the first round, while seven sprinters had already received automatic byes in the semi-finals. Despite the benefit of a legal wind of 1.5 m/s, Gurindervir could not convert the favorable conditions into a faster time. His effort of 10.39 seconds was well below his personal best and national record of 10.09 seconds, set at the Federation Cup in Ranchi earlier this year, where he became the first Indian to run under 10.10 seconds.
Azamati, Saminu lead ratings
Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati and Abdul-Rasheed Saminu emerged as the fastest qualifiers from the heats, clocking 10.00 seconds and 10.01 seconds, respectively, to lead the field into the semi-finals.
