Who is Gurpreet Singh - India's race walker who has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020

The Indian Track and Field contingent for Tokyo Olympics 2020 got a further boost when race walker Gurpreet Singh qualified for the men's 50km race walk. Gurpreet Singh was assured participation in this month's Summer Games on the basis of his world ranking.

Gurpreet is ranked 104 in the world in 50km race walk. His personal best in the event is 3:59:42 which he achieved in Ranchi in February this year.

The Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju congratulated Gurpreet Singh on his achievement.

I congratulate Gurpreet Singh who will be representing India in Men’s 50 km Race Walk at #Tokyo2020 after qualifying through his world ranking.All the best Gurpreet! pic.twitter.com/8c98BExmfH

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) July 6, 2021

The Atheletic Federation of Indian (AFI) had announced a squad of 26 members who will be representing India in track and field events at the Tokyo Games.

#TeamIndia Athletics for @Tokyo2020 All the best 👍🏻 Team#Tokyo2020 #Cheer4India @WeAreTeamIndia @SonySportsIndia pic.twitter.com/7NIiWzSwRs

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) July 5, 2021

Who holds the Olympics record for the 50km racewalk?

Four men have qualified for the race walk events. KT Irfan, Sandeep Kumar and Rahul Rohila will be participating in the 20km racewalk. Gurpreet Singh will be India's sole representative for the 50km racewalk.

The 50km racewalk is the longest event on the Olympic programme. It is the only athletics event at major championships still contested by just men. The 50km race walk became part of the Olympic schedule in 1932, although it was not contested at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

Matej Tóth of Slovakia is the reigning Olympic champion. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he finished the race in 3:40.58 to clinch the gold medal. India's Sandeep Kumar was part of that race and he had finished 35th with a race time of 4:07.55.

France's Yohann Diniz holds the world record in the men's 50km race walk. He created the record in Zürich in 2014 when he completed the race in 3:32.33. The Olympic Games Record is held by Australia's Jared Tallent with a time of 3:36.53 which he set at London Olympics 2012.