New Delhi, Feb 22 (.) Dr Kartik Karkera emerged as the winner of the Cognizant Delhi Marathon on Sunday morning clocking a timing of 2 hours 13 minutes and 10 seconds, in doing so he has also qualified for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.

In a close contest, the Nasik resident narrowly piped Armymen Gopi Thonakal (2 hours 13 minutes and 12 seconds) and Man Singh (2 hours 13 minutes and 15 seconds) by a few seconds.

Gopi Thonakal and Man Singh also qualified for the Asian games.

Speaking to . Dr Karkera said that besides Asiad qualification he was also targeting breaking the national record. “My target was to finish in the top two. I was also aiming for national record timing. I was on course to do so till 35 kilometers but after that I slowed down a little bit. It was a very fast finish as you see the gap between the first, second and third was very less, a matter of seconds. The competition was really tough. I guess, all three of us are capable of winning medals for India.”

The national record stands at 2 hours 12 minutes, which was set in 1978 by the late Shivnath Singh. Asian Games qualifying standard was set at 2 hours 15 minutes and 4 seconds set by the Athletics Federation of India.

He explained how being an orthopaedic Doctor helps him as a runner. “Being an orthopaedic Doctor helps me as an athlete. It helps me

to recover faster from injuries, and, as I am more aware, I can also avoid injuries.”

Picked up running to escape the pressure and stress of studies, the 28-year-old Orthopaedic feels that there is no age or time to start it as a hobby.

“I started running at the age of 19, a little late as most start earlier than that. There is no time to start, one can start at any age. I started in the second year of MBBS. I took up running as a means to escape the stress of studies. Not only running, I also took up swimming, shooting and Gym. I got quick results in running and during the pandemic I ran even more as at that time other things, were suspended. I improved a lot and started participating in state and national events. This is my first national medal, I am happy to become a national champion in marathon.”

Dr Karkera, who also holds the Maharashtra state record in the 1500 meters, advised aspiring marathoners to be patient and get as much match practice as possible before going for big events.

“If you work hard and are patient, results will come. I myself have been training for the last 10 years. One needs to be consistent in their training. I tried to get as much competitive experience as possible. I have been participating in 800 m, 1500 m, 5000 m as well.”

The eleventh edition of Cognizant New Delhi Marathon was flagged off from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 4 am on Sunday. Around 30,000 participants, including 15,000 half-marathoners and 7,000 full marathoners, and more than 8,000 other running enthusiasts took part in the event.

The first place winner, Dr Kartik received a cheque of Rs 2 lakh.

. . KK