NEW DELHI: For Asian Games silver medallist Kartik Kumar, it must have been déjà vu. Last year at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon (VDHM), Kartik was pipped to the finish line by Avinash Sable in the Indian elite men’s category. This year too, the tale was something similar.
It seemed that Kartik had the winner’s prize money all but sealed, but 2018 VDHM winner Abhishek Pal sneaked from behind and pipped Kartik at the post by just a second.
Pal, a bronze medallist in men’s 10,000m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok earlier this year, clocked a new personal best of 1:04:07 to edge Kartik who clocked 1:04:08. Sawan Barwal came third, timing 1:04:17 and getting the better of Murli Gavit (1:04:41) who came fourth.
It was truly an edge-of-the-seat thriller, with both Pal and Kartik promising an encore next year.
“Kartik and I have had a lot of close contests and today (Sunday) we had another one,” Pal said after the race. “Kartik and I train together and I am really happy about his achievement at the Asian Games. We will definitely have another photo finish at the VDHM next year,” he added.
On his part, Kartik, who hails from Shimlana village in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, said, “I thought for a moment during the initial stages of the race that I might not win a medal today. But fortunately, I managed to get a silver and I am pretty satisfied – although I would’ve preferred to win the title. I trained hard for the last few days and I wanted to do justice to my hard work.”
Both Kartik and Pal will now focus on qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics. While Pal is aiming to qualify for the 5,000m as well as 10,000m races, Kartik is targeting the 10,000m only.
“If I can get the chance to compete with top-level runners on a consistent basis, then I can do even better as an international athlete,” Kartik said. “We (Indian) athletes are not just striving for participation at the Olympics anymore, we want to win medals and show the world what we’re capable of,” Pal added.
In the Indian elite women’s race, Kavita Yadav, on her VDHM debut, clinched the top spot with a timing of 1:17:42. She was closely followed by Rima Patel (1:17:48) and Poonam Dinkar Sonune (1:17:49). Sanjivani Jadhav, who won the title in the 2022 edition, finished out of the medal spots at fourth with 1:17:53.
“I am thrilled to win the race on my debut. The race got very close towards the end and I had to push hard in the last 400 metres to ensure that I finished first. The course was quite fast and it was a great experience. I will definitely come back to defend my title,” Kavita, who comes from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, said after her victory.
