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Tirath, Shamli emerge champs

Last Updated 19 October 2014, 19:02 IST

Unheralded Tirath Kumar walked away with the top honours in the inaugural Bengaluru Marathon, a race plagued by bad management and poor crowd response.

In an event that lacked quality due to the absence of top stars -- both international and national -- Gorkha Regiment armyman Tirath covered the streets of the City in a timing of two hours 25 minutes and 51 seconds to capture the Elite men’s category title.Krishna Singh finished second with a timing of 2:26.07 while Neeraj Pal Singh clocked 2:27.03 to sign off third as the lesser ranks of Indian athletics did their best to make up for the loss of star power.

“The race was good and I’m very happy with my performance,” said a delighted Tirath, who finished 11th in this year’s Mumbai Marathon. “I knew I had a great chance to win the race and I was very confident from the start. I’ve been training hard and wanted to make the most of this opportunity. The weather too was brilliant and I’m really thrilled to have pulled off a fine victory.”

Shamli Singh (3:16.18) beat Sudha Vig (3:17.20) to wear the women’s elite full marathon crown while Jyoti Gawante -- the pre-race favourite --  finished a disappointing third at 3:29.09.

The elite men’s half-marathon also had unseen faces climbing up the podium with Madras Regiment Centre staffer Dasari Vasu grabbing the gold after crossing the line in 1:11.57. Nirmal Kumar (1:12.10) was second while BC Tilak (1:12.18) came third in a race where the winners were misguided by the pilot vehicle around the 16-km mark that eventually forced them to run an extra 1,500 metres.

The only race that had some quality was the women’s elite half-marathon where 3000M steeplechaser Sudha Singh took the gold with a timing of 1:18.23. L Surya (1:19.12) was second while Guangzhou Asian Games twin medallist Kavita Raut made her return from a calf strain injury a sweet one, taking the third place at 1:10.26.

“It was smooth race for me,” said Sudha Singh, who finished fourth in the 3000M steeplechase event at the Incheon Asian Games. “I faced very little problems. I checked into City at 8 pm last night and was bit worried as I has just slept for three hours. But when I got running, I rarely felt the fatigue. Now, I just want to rest for a few days before preparing for the Open Nationals in New Delhi.”

Despite the absence of a timing vehicle for the opening 10 kilometres and lack of proper pace-setters, Tirath went about his business in routine fashion. He always stayed in front, strutting smoothly around the relatively flat track in cool early morning weather. He broke free from the bunch with about a kilometre to go and when he entered the Sree Kanteerava Stadium for the finish, he held a decent lead over Krishna before cutting the tape first without much hassle.

Sudha was in her elements in the women’s half-marathon. In good form this season, she set the pace from the start, rarely relinquishing it. Knowing Kavita is coming back from an injury and no other major threat in sight, she opted to burst clear a little earlier than usual. 

The move paid good dividends as she opened up a healthy lead over her rivals within about a kilometre, something which her rivals couldn’t narrow. 



Results: Elite: Full marathon: Men: Tirath Kumar (2:25.51) 1; Krishna Singh (2:26.07) 2; Neeraj Pal Singh (2:27.03) 3. 

Women: Shamli Singh (3:16.18) 1; Sudha Vig (3:17.20) 2; Jyoti Gawante (3:29.09) 3.Half-marathon: Men: Dasari Vasu (1:11.57) 1; Nirmal Kumar (1:12.10) 2; BC Tilak (1:12.18) 3.

Women: Sudha Singh (1:18.23) 1; L Surya (1:19.12) 2; Kavita Raut (1:20.26) 3.

Open: Full marathon: Men: Raja (2:34.28) 1; Jegadheesan Munusami (2:39.33) 2; Prakash Dhasade (2:55.02) 3.

Women: Eve Bugler (3:39.57) 1; Elizabeth Chapman (3:34.06) 2; Bhagwati (3:51.48) 3.

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(Published 19 October 2014, 19:01 IST)

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