New Delhi, May 22 -- The preparation was in place, the anticipation palpable for his Diamond League debut. But by the end of the 5,000 metre final of the Doha Diamond League on 16 May, Gulveer Singh finished a dismal ninth.

The race pace was sluggish on the whole. Though the winner, Reynold Cheruiyot of Kenya, clocked a personal best of 13.16.40, it was way off the leading time of 12.44.09 this year. Singh's timing of 13 minutes 24 seconds (13.24.32) was also far slower than his personal best of 12.59.77 that he set in February this year.

A number of factors in the run-up to the race affected Singh's performance. He had been training under coach Scott Simmons at his high altitude base in Colorado Springs in the United States, where the ...