Pranav Gurav beats the odds, fancied field to win first national 100m gold at Federation Cup 2025

When he crossed the finish line at the conclusion of the men’s 100m final during the Federation Cup in Kochi, Pranav Gurav couldn’t control his emotions. “ Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki jai” he exclaimed while pointing his finger to the sky.

Shivaji – the medieval king – is dear to many in the Maratha heartland where Pranav is from. “My bloodline is Maratha. I’m a big believer in Shivaji  Maharaj. I get motivated by him. He fought against a lot of opposition and still won. I feel motivated by that,” Pranav would say later.

And indeed, just like the famous king in his chant, Pranav too had upset the odds.

There were not many eyes on Pranav at the start of the event. Running alongside him were far more pedigreed runners – current 100m national record (NR) holder Gurindervir Singh, former NR holder Manikanta Hoblidhar, 200m NR holder Amlan Borgohain and National Games champion Animesh Kujur.

All of them, unlike Pranav, are sponsored athletes which means they have the best facilities, coaches and physios available. Pranav, meanwhile, has never won a senior national competition. The 23-year-old finished second in his 100m heat in the morning and only third in his semifinal heat in the evening. Earlier in the morning, his grandfather had been admitted to hospital with renal failure – something that he admitted stressed him out immensely.

At least on paper, he shouldn’t have had a chance. Races though, as the saying goes, are won on track and not on paper.

By the end, everyone at the Maharaja College stadium had their eyes on Pranav as he streaked to victory past all his favoured compatriots with a new personal best of 10.27.

He had run a clinical race, starting out strong and finishing nearly a stride ahead of his nearest competitor Animesh Kujur who had beaten him in the 100m final of the National Games a month ago.

Even though he was aware of the odds, Pranav had been looking at the bright side of the challenges he was facing. “I was actually expecting to run in the 10.10 second range because everyone else was doing so well. Guri (Gurindervir Singh) had run 10.20 just recently. Manikanta and Animesh were also performing well. So, I thought I would be a part of a fast race and I should just run for the national record,” he says.

While the national record didn’t come to be, even Pranav will admit that it’s remarkable he even went to this point. He might be the national champion now but until relatively recently he admits he never even thought about a career in athletics.

No facilities

Pranav is from Daund, located some 80km to the west of Pune. Once a  jagir of Shahuji, the father of Shivaji, it has little by way of sports facilities. While Pranav didn’t face any financial struggles – his father was a building contractor – his main challenge was a lack of knowledge. “Daund is like a rural area. I didn’t have any knowledge of athletics or sports growing up. I didn’t even know that was an option for me,” Pranav says.

His first experience of a track was memorable but not for the right reasons. “The first athletic track I saw was was the SPD (State Police Department) track. It wasn’t a synthetic track but a mud one. I had no idea what it was. At that time I took a motorcycle to drive on it. There was a policeman on duty who yelled at me saying this wasn’t a place to drive a motorcycle but meant for running,” he recalls.

That incident would be the impetus for Pranav to start his own journey as an athlete. He trained by himself for two years, begging his school to take him to  taluka-level competitions. “At that time, I had no spikes or knowledge or anything. In one taluka-level competition, I ran the 100m in 13.5 seconds, a record in that level,” he says.

READ: Federation Cup 2025: Pranav stuns stars to bag 100m gold; Sawan breaks 18-Year-old record in 10,000m

When a fellow athlete told him that he would need to go to Pune in order to get better, that’s what he did, joining Baburao Sanas stadium where he trained under coach Arvind Sawant. Just getting to train was a struggle. “Pune is some 80 kilometers from where I stay. I would make that round trip every day. I would get up at 4.30 am so that I could get to the stadium by 7.45 am. Then after I’d finish training, I’d get back home, so I could go to school,” he says.

For all his efforts, Pranav’s late start to his athletics career – he only formally started training when he was 18 – meant that he didn’t have the kind of early results that would attract support. In those early years, he had to find a way to motivate himself. “I think it’s important not to give up. A lot of children push themselves for a year or two and then decide to give up. We can’t do that. You have to push yourself,” he says.

Engineering success

His daily journey was exhausting and it got even harder when Pranav, a good student, cleared his engineering entrance exams and took admission for a course in civil engineering at the AISSMS College of Engineering.

“It was really hard at first to manage both my studies and sports. My parents were not sure about whether I should be trying to do both but I was adamant. It was only towards the end of my engineering course that my college allowed me to take time off, so I could train,” he says.

The reason for the change of heart came because Pranav, despite the challenges, managed to compete and win a gold at the Under-23 National Championships in Bilaspur in 2022 with a time of 10.39.

ALSO READ: Neeraj Chopra Classic: Arshad Nadeem invited; venue changed from Panchkula to Bengaluru

Since then Pranav has steadily put together results which are solid, although not spectacular – silver at the 2023 National Games (with a time of 10.41) and then again in the 2025 edition (with a time of 10.32).

Although he is currently employed by the Indian Railways and supported financially by his father, Pranav admits it would help if he had a sponsor. “It would have helped if I had some of the support that some of my competitors get. They get great facilities, coaching and physios when they need it. It would have helped if I had some of that today. The conditions were really humid and my body was feeling really heavy before the final,” he says.

But despite all of that, Pranav did manage to finish ahead of the pack and now his appetite has only grown further. He wears a necklace with the Olympic rings on them, and as lofty as the challenge is, Pranav says he’s up for it. “I want to qualify for the Asian Games. I want to qualify for the Asiad and also think about the Olympics. I’m not finished with this one performance. I will do my best in the next 2-3 years,” he says.