India's athletics campaign witnessed mixed fortunes on Day 5 of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with Murali Sreeshankar, Sajan Prakash and Tejas Shirse progressing to the finals of their respective events. National record-holder Gurindervir Singh, however, failed to advance in the men's 100m sprint despite finishing second in his heat. The contrasting results capped an eventful day for the Indian contingent.
Sreeshankar qualified for the men's long jump final after clearing the automatic qualification mark with his very first attempt. The 27-year-old leaped 8.01m in Group A to surpass the required eight-metre standard and secure direct qualification. With a season's best of 8.38m, the Indian will now aim to improve on the silver medal he won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
In the pool, two-time Olympian Sajan Prakash booked his place in the men's 200m butterfly final after finishing sixth fastest overall in the heats. Prakash clocked 1:58.59 to finish second in Heat 2 behind Scotland's Duncan Scott, earning one of the eight spots in the final. Australia's Harrison Turner topped the qualification standings, while Prakash entered the final with a personal best of 1:57.09 set earlier this year.
Tejas Shirse also advanced to the final of his event after producing a strong performance in the heats. His qualification added to India's encouraging results across athletics and swimming on Monday. The Indian will now look to carry that momentum into the medal round.
There was disappointment, however, in the marquee men's 100m event as Gurindervir Singh crashed out in the heats. The 25-year-old clocked 10.39 seconds, well below his national record of 10.09 seconds set at the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May. His effort left him 28th overall and ended his hopes of becoming the first Indian to break the 10-second barrier on the Commonwealth Games stage.
