Kartik Karkera dominated the capital’s streets to win the 11th New Delhi Marathon and, along with two others, breached the qualifying standard for this year’s Asian Games here on Sunday.
Completing the 42.2 kilometres in a remarkable timing of two hours and thirteen minutes (02:13:10), Mumbai’s Karkera comfortably surpassed the qualifying mark for the Asian Games in Japan later this year.
A doctor by profession, the 28-year-old had to stave off a concerted bid by Gopi Thonakal (02:13:12) and Man Singh (02:13:15) to eventually take the top position on the podium.
The fierce competition between the trio saw them cross the finish line within a few breaths of each other, well under the 2:15:04 required for men to compete in the Asian Games in September.
The elite women, however, could not match their male counterparts’ stunning run, falling way short of the 2:31:52 mark.
Thakor Nirmaben (02:41:15), however, will be proud of her performance, doing justice to her higher ranking while leaving Bhagirathi (02:43:28) and Ashwini Jadhav (02:56:59) in her trail.
The New Delhi Marathon, the AFI certified National Marathon of the country, proved to be a runaway success, with over 30,000 runners from 31 countries, 490 cities participating.
Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh and tennis star Rohan Bopanna flagged off key races in the morning and, later, bestowed the glittering trophies and prize money to the winners.
In the other key races, Kuldip Kumar (01:08:51) and Genet Shikur Reshid (01:19:36) grabbed the bragging rights in the half-marathons.
Ravi Bumbak (01:09:33) and Mohmmad Sahil Anigeri (01:09:41) took the next two positions among men as did Ekta Ekta (01:19:39) and Priti Lamva (01:19:59) among women.