AFI announces six-member Indian team for World Cross Country C'ships

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Saturday announced a six-member Indian team for the biennial World Cross Country Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia, on March 30.

Asian Games 10,000m silver medallist Kartik Kumar, bronze medallist Gulveer Singh and national champion Hemraj Gujjar comprised the men's section, as women's national champion Ankita, Seema and Anjali Kumari completed the women's team.

Gulveer recently broke a 16-year-old national record in the men’s 10,000m to finish second in his heat at The Ten in San Juan Capistrano in California.

The 25-year-old clocked 27.41.81 on Saturday to better the earlier national mark of 28:02.89 by over 20 seconds that stood in Surendra Singh’s name since 2008.

However, his effort was not enough for Olympic qualification as he missed the Paris Games qualification time of 27:00.00 by over 41 seconds.

At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Kartik ended India’s 25-year wait for a medal in the men’s 10,000m, winning the silver medal.

The one-day World Cross Country Championships are considered the toughest races to win, even more difficult than the Olympic Games.

While most major championships have separate races, the Cross Country Championships pit all runners against one another in men's and women's races, making the competition quite fierce. 

The competition will also have a mixed-gender relay race.