Srinu Bugatha, Thakor Nirmaben To Defend Indian Elite Crowns In Mumbai Marathon

Srinu Bugatha, Thakor Nirmaben to defend Indian Elite crowns in Mumbai Marathon (Image Source: IANS)

The World Athletics Gold Label: Srinu Bugatha and Thakor Nirmaben Bharatjee, the defending men’s and women’s champions respectively, will headline a star-studded Indian Elite field for the 20th edition of the Mumbai Marathon 2025 to be held on January 19.

Reigning Asian marathon champion Man Singh, Olympian Gopi T, a two-time winner and three-time runner-up, and the experienced Kalidas Hirve, who finished fourth in the 2024 edition, are among the leading contenders in the men’s race.

Gopi won the 2024 New Delhi Marathon in 2:14.40, pipping second-placed Army-mate Bugatha by one second.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Hirve, who finished third in the 2023 edition, underlined his current form by winning the recent Vasai-Virar Mayor’s Marathon.

The World Athletics Gold Label race will also see Kartik Kumar, the 2023 Asian Games 10,000m silver medallist, making his debut over the classic distance in Mumbai. Kartik’s best marathon time is 2:22:50, which he recorded at the Bengaluru Marathon in October last year. Also in the mix is young Harshad Mahtre, who finished fifth in the last edition.

Challenging Nirmaben, runner-up at the 2024 New Delhi Marathon and placed fourth at the World 25K Kolkata 2024. For the top honours in the women’s race will be Sonika Parmar and Reenu, winner and runner-up, respectively, at the 2024 Coal India Ranchi Marathon. In the fray is also Arati Patil, who finished second in the 2023 edition.

The top three finishers in the Indian Elite men’s and women’s categories will receive prize money of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, respectively, from the total prize fund of USD 390,238.

An incentive reward of Rs 2 lakh is up for grabs for setting a new mark in the event, which is currently held by Nitendra Singh Rawat in the Men’s 2016 edition (2:15:48) and Sudha Singh in the women’s 2019 edition (2:34:56).

Indian Elite Athletes for Mumbai Marathon 2025

Men: Gopi Thonakal, Man Singh, Srinu Bugatha, Pradeep Singh Chaudhary, Anish Thapa Magar, Kalidas Hirave, Sher Singh, Kartik Kumar, Sarvesh Kumar, Yogesh Kumar Sharma, Harshad Mhatre, Vikram Bangriya, Pankaj Dhaka, Late Changdev, Anant Gaonkar, Prathamesh Paramkar, Nikhil Singh, Dev Singh Dagar, Pankaj Singh, Subhash Saini, Deepa Ram

Women:

Men: Gopi Thonakal, Man Singh, Srinu Bugatha, Pradeep Singh Chaudhary, Anish Thapa Magar, Kalidas Hirave, Sher Singh, Kartik Kumar, Sarvesh Kumar, Yogesh Kumar Sharma, Harshad Mhatre, Vikram Bangriya, Pankaj Dhaka, Late Changdev, Anant Gaonkar, Prathamesh Paramkar, Nikhil Singh, Dev Singh Dagar, Pankaj Singh, Subhash Saini, Deepa Ram

Article Source: IANS