Home | Recommend Us | Contact us | Make NK your default homepage
TOP NEWS
BREAKING NEWS
HOME | ASTROLOGY | CHINESE ASTROLOGY | NUMEROLOGY | RECIPES | SELF HELP | PHOTO GALLERY | YOGA | TRAVEL | EDUCATION | PINCODES | BABY NAMES
NEWS CHANNELS
  • Kerala News
  • India News
  • World News
  • Business India
  • Sports News
  • Cricket News
  • Travel News
  • Health News
  • Technology
  • Literature News
  • Education News
  • Agriculture News
  • Automobile News
  • Real Estate News
  • Special Features
Entertainment News
  • Bollywood News
  • Hollywood News
  • Fashion News
  • Television News
  • Malayalam Film
  • Kannada Film
  • Tamil Film
  • Telugu Film
Regional News
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Gujarat News
  • Karnataka News
  • Maharashtra
  • Orissa News
  • Punjab News
  • Rajasthan News
  • Tamil Nadu
  • West Bengal
  • More India News
Best Of NewKerala

  • Festivals of India
  • Self Help
  • India Travel Maps
  • Temples of India
  • Kerala Info
  • Indian Dance Forms
  • Music of India
  • Bollywood Photos
  • Make Up Lessons
  • Weight Loss Tips
  • Top Destinations
  • World Travelogues

Home > News > sports-india-news

Indian marathoners upbeat despite bottom-half finish

New Delhi, Nov 1 : They lag behind the foreign athletes but Indian marathoners are a motivated bunch and say they can challenge the world's best if provided with proper resources.

Deepchand Saharan (64 mins) and Sukanya Mall (80:11 sec) were the first Indians to cross the finishing line in the men's and women's section of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon Sunday.

While Deepchand was 17th overall, 4 mins and 6 seconds slower than the winner Deriba Merga of Ethopia, on the 21-km track, Mall finished 22nd, 13 mins and 17 seconds behind world champion Mary Keitany of Kenya, who set a new record for that distance.

Santhosh Kumar (65:10) and Soji Mathews (65:18) were the second and third placed Indians in the men's section while Anuradha Singh (82:07) and Kamlesh Baghel (83:23) followed Sukanya in the women's section.

All of them are training for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

"We are training at the national camp in Bangalore and this was a test event for us. It will help us to see how much we have progressed. Our aim is to perform well at the Commonwealth and Asian Games," said Deepchand, who shaved off 48 seconds from the existing Indian mark of 64.48.

Santosh Kumar, who hails from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, says they need more help from the government.

"It's a very tough sport. We all have jobs and it's not possible for us to concentrate alone on the sport. You can't expect us to do the work in office and then train for 3-4 hours everyday. It demands complete dedication," Santosh says.

"This is a sport where if you don't train for a month or two, then you have to begin from the scratch. It's not like cricket or football where you can quickly get back to form after some games. But we are slowly improving. If we want to see Indian athletes perform, then the juniors need to be given proper enviornment to train so that they can match the international athletes."

Incidentally, all the three women were from Uttar Pradesh, two of them - Sukanya and Anuradha - hail from Gorakhpur.

"I took to the sport while I was in school. There is no sponsor and I do not have a job. But running is my passion and I will continue to pursue it."

There were separate prizes for the top 10 Indian finishers.

The top three won $4,000, $3,000 and $ 2,000.

--IANS

Post your comment

Read other sports-india-news stories

Visit Home Page for fresh content


Most Visited Articles:

Student Loan- The way to nurture and fulfill your Goals

Forex Trading- A Smart Choice of Earning

Web Hosting Tips- Are Dedicated Servers Really Worth the Penny?

 

PHOTO GALLERY
  • Bollywood Photos
  • Hollywood Photos
  • Fashion Photos
  • More Headlines:
    Lil Wayne To Lead Haiti Concert Before Entering Jail
    Nothing wrong in betting firms sponsoring Grand Slam: Andy Roddick
    Ringo Starr honoured with Hollywood Walk of Fame star
    Michelle Obama under fire over obesity comments
    UAE, Turkmenistan sign bilateral agreements
    Senior Al Qaeda man killed in Somalia
    Thilakan protests, Malayalam film body demands apology
    Iran starts 20-percent uranium enrichment process
    UAE, Poland strengthen economic ties
    Sri Lankan parliament dissolved
    Hostel warden arrested for sexually exploiting inmates
    Apex court clears government way to acquire south Delhi land
    Turkey joins India in battling terror, backs global convention
    'Ghosts' in Punjab posing big threat to Canadian immigration
    Azad shoots down Omar's proposed surrender policy
    Shock defeats for Ireland, Scotland, Kenya
    Pakistani court orders A.Q. Khan's medical examination
    India, Africa should be partners in capacity-building: Academics
    No good or bad Taliban, says Iran
    Why Madhavan doesn't sign Tamil projects?
    Hakimullah Mehsud dead, say Taliban sources
    Katrina Kaif rescued by the forest department
    Sena mobs attack theatres ahead of 'My Name Is Khan' release
    Purab Kohli tries to scare pretty co-star!
    Russian movie 'August 17' bags top honour at XIth MIFF
    No gossip girls for Anjana Sukhani
    Genetic engineering panel should be more transparent: Ramesh
    Toh Baat Pakki director floored by Tabu!
    Priyanka Chopra awed with My Name is Khan
    Vidya Balan is not apologetic about her lust
    Kashmir government gets 10-year extension of tax package
    Udita Goswami ready with Chase!
    'Rath yatra' to herald Gujarat golden jubilee
    Pallavi Subhash childless in Sony's next!
    Vijay and Asin in 'Bodyguard' remake
    'We will not allow screening of My Name Is Khan'
    Dr.Riddhima Marries Dr. Siddhant?
    Asha Bhosle sings for Kannada film
    Digvijay Singh briefs Sonia on Azamgarh visit
    Vivan Bhatena spoils Kritika's brand new car!
      Home | Recommend Us | Contact us | Make NK your default homepage
      � 2001-2008 NEWKERALA.COM. All Rights Reserved.