New Delhi, February 18 – Army’s Harmanjot Singh will be part of the 12-member Indian team that will compete in the 18th Asian Cross-Country Championships, scheduled for February 21 in Fukuoka, Japan.
According to Bahadur Singh Sagoo, President of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the Indian team will depart for Japan on Wednesday.
The Indian athletes will compete in the senior men’s, women’s, and U20 groups. Harmanjot Singh will compete in the men’s 10km event. Aditya Gurjar, Abhinandan Suryavanshi, and Karan Ramesh Saranade will represent India in the men’s U20 category. The distance for the men’s U20 event is 8km.
The members of the women’s 10km team are Nandani Gupta, Ujala, Soniya, and Munni Devi. Versha, Mani Yadav, Sonam Kumari, and Aarju will compete in the women’s U20 group.
The AFI selected the national team based on the athletes' performance during the 60th National Cross-Country Championships, which were held last month in Ranchi, Jharkhand, where 35 teams, including affiliated state units, participated.
Athletes from the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) had won the senior men and women team titles at the National Cross Country Championships. Harmanjot Singh, representing the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), won the men’s individual 10km event with a time of 30:33. Nandani Gupta of RSPB won the women’s individual 10km event, clocking 35:42.28.
The men’s U20 team title went to Uttar Pradesh (22 points), while Maharashtra took home the women’s U20 trophy (21 points).
The top four runners in each of the senior (men and women) and junior (men and women) groups will be selected for the Indian team.
The national team also competed in the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, held on January 10 in Tallahassee, Florida (USA). In the highly competitive 10km individual event, Gulveer Singh was the leading Indian runner, finishing 40th with a time of 30:39.
The Indian mixed relay team (4x2km) finished overall 12th with a time of 24 minutes and 13 seconds. The members of the Indian mixed relay team were Ajay Saroj, Pooja, Yoonus Shah, and Ankita.
Indian Team:
Men 10km: Harmanjot Singh
U20 8km: Aditya Gurjar, Abhinandan Suryavanshi, Karan Ramesh Saranade
Women 10km: Nandani Gupta, Ujala, Soniya, Munni Devi
U20 6km: Versha, Mani Yadav, Sonam Kumari, Aarju.
