Talent and hard work are the cornerstones of sporting success. But in the 21st century, with advances in science, the right equipment and gear can often make the difference between winning and losing. Likewise, Indian athlete Harmanjot Singh lavished praise on his gear, which helped him put in a good show at the TCS World 10k in Bengaluru. The 30-year-old is also currently associated with ASICS, a Japanese footwear brand.
Despite finishing 17th in the overall standings, he came out on top in the Indian Elite Men’s section, ahead of Shailesh Kushwaha and Deepak Bhatt. He also missed the national record by just one second. Earlier in the year, he also missed out on a gold medal at the Asian Cross-Country C’ships in Japan, finishing second.
As margins at the highest level continue to shrink, using quality gear has become as important as training itself. Speaking to Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview, Harmanjot opened up on his performance in Bengaluru. He also revealed the importance of his gear, which contributed to his performance. Here are the excerpts-
On missing the record by just one second-
From the start of the race, the plan was to run well. Records, that’s a matter for the future, what will happen with records. But there was a mindset that it was important to set a record here; once, there should be a record, because when competing with international athletes, the race will become a bit faster. So after that, I thought that some athlete would be found who would work on the pace. Someone from the international group would break away or fall behind a bit, which would help with the pace, so the record would be easy to break.
Because of this, later there was a slight miss in the pace, a little misjudgment, and then I was alone. Then, in the last kilometre, sir, I again had the mindset that a record could still be set. I ran on that, but I missed it by a second.
Did anyone inform him that he had the chance to break the record-
No, no one informed me. But I knew that the record could be broken because the first five kilometres were very fast. Later, it got a bit messed up, you could say.
His approach to training, and changes in it-
Training has become increasingly important, with a focus on mileage and recovery. Earlier, it was just about recovery, like in high-intensity training, you had to cover some mileage, keeping your zones and recovery runs always in Zone 2, easy runs. And in long runs and very long runs, you had to go a bit faster and pay attention, which has led to more lactate-threshold workouts, sir, now. Because of that, there’s a big difference in training now.
Mileage and recovery-
Both recovery and mileage should be balanced for the best results. All the mileage will come only then.
Recovery is by keeping your easy runs easy. If we put in some effort for easy runs, then during the three days of recovery, we should do recovery runs.
Strategy on race day in Bengaluru-
On race day, as I mentioned before, the strategy was to stick with the international athletes. I thought we wouldn’t go that fast and would slow down a bit, but they pushed the pace too much. The pace was a bit too fast, which is why the first five kilometres of the race were too fast.
Partnership with ASICS-
ASICS is focusing on the long term, understanding that athletes’ lives have ups and downs. The partnership is great. Nowadays, they are releasing great shoes and running gear. The shoes are also very good, like the Metaspeed series, including the Sky and Edge models. They offer excellent energy return and have a carbon plate. Compared to the average shoes we wear for regular use, there’s a huge difference when running. The racing shoes from ASICS, such as the Metaspeed Sky, Edge, and Ray, are significantly different from regular shoes. They are much lighter, and the carbon plate provides a lot of energy return, making running much easier.
Importance of marginal gains for an athlete-
Small changes should always be made in life, and in one’s game as well. Because, some changes we make don’t yield results, while some changes work wonderfully. For example, earlier, everyone used to do an easy run in the evening, a normal warm-up of four to five kilometres. But this year, we’ve made a slight change in the evening run, adding a bit more mileage, making it six, seven, or eight kilometres. Because of that, it’s also improved the aerobic aspect, and it’s become better. And, these small things do make a difference.
Main focus for 2026-
For 2026, the primary focus, is on the Asian Games.
Development of long-distance running in India-
The sport is getting there. Everyone’s mindset has also changed a bit. Looking at the last two years, earlier the Indian record was 28.02, but in the last two years, it has been broken four to five times. It’s now 27.00. So, development is happening. Everything is changing in training as well, because of changes in the gym. And we’ve started working on mileage, so a lot has changed in that. And, good facilities are also available now.
