India endured a mixed day on the athletics track at the Commonwealth Games 2026 as Tejas Ashok Shirse and Murali Sreeshankar advanced to their respective finals, while national record-holder Gurindervir Singh suffered an early exit in the men’s 100m heats.
The 24-year-old made a steady recovery after a slow start to clock 13.76 seconds and finish third in his heat. Jamaica’s Jerome Campbell won the race in 13.33 seconds, while England’s Samuel Bennet finished second in 13.20 seconds.
The top three athletes from each of the two heats qualified automatically for the final, along with the next two fastest runners overall. By finishing in the top three, Shirse secured his place in the final without depending on his timing.
Although he was well below his personal best of 13.27 seconds, Shirse did enough to stay in contention for a medal. He will now compete in the final, scheduled for 2:15 AM IST on Tuesday.
It was another encouraging result for India’s athletics team after long jumper Murali Sreeshankar also reached the final earlier in the day. The Birmingham 2022 silver medallist cleared the automatic qualification mark with his very first jump of 8.01 metres and progressed comfortably to the medal round. He also heads into the final with the best season’s best among the competitors.
However, there was disappointment in the men’s 100m event. National record-holder Gurindervir Singh failed to make it past the heats despite finishing second in his race with a time of 10.39 seconds. His timing left him 28th overall, while only the top 17 athletes qualified for the semi-finals.
Despite Gurindervir’s exit, India’s athletics campaign continued to gather momentum with Shirse and Sreeshankar advancing to their respective finals. Shirse will now look to produce his best race of the season as he chases a place on the Commonwealth Games podium.