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Merga and Mergia will be tested in Delhi Half-Marathon

Sports Reporter

— Photo: PTI

Deriba Merga.

NEW DELHI: Defending champions Deriba Merga and Aselefech Mergia will have a lot of opposition in the Airtel Delhi Half-Marathon which will be held here on Sunday.

The flag-off will be at 7.30 a.m.

The conditions look ideal for the event, with cooler weather and lesser smog compared to the previous year setting up the stage for possible course records in both sections.

Merga had won narrowly last time, edging Kenyan Wilson Kipsang on the final stretch.

In the women’s section, Mergia will have to contend with the newly-crowned World half marathon champion Mary Keitany of Kenya.

A record number of over 29,000 participants have entered in various events with the half-marathon alone attracting a total of over 8,000 runners.

For keen followers of Indian athletics, there will be some disappointment in that a few prominent home athletes will be missing from the field because of the Asian championships scheduled to start in Guangzhou, China, on November 10.

Missing

Three of the top five finishers in the men’s section and the champion and runner-up in the women’s section are not turning up for the annual fixture as all of them are either preparing for the Asian meet or are already in China.

It will thus be a good opportunity for athletes like former champion Ram Singh Yadav and Deepchand Saharan, who had finished third in 2008, to try and grab the top honours.

Last year’s winner in the Indian section, Sandeep Kumar, runner-up Kashinath Aswale and fifth-placed Surendra Kumar Singh are absent.

Testing progress

Services men Ram Singh and Deepchand are part of the National camp in Bangalore and have come here to test their progress for the marathon in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games next year. So far, both have taken part in three races each in 2009.

“We will use this event to see how our practice is progressing. Our main aim is to do well in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. If we do a 2:15, then we stand a chance to come within the medal bracket at these meets,” Ram Singh told mediapersons on Saturday.

The 29-year-old was confident of improving his performance on the flat course here. “In comparison to Mumbai, the course and weather are better. So, I expect a better result,” said Ram Singh.

Not to over-stretch

Though 32-year-old Deepchand wants to better his last year’s performance of 1:04.56, he will not over-stretch himself. “Obviously, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games are top priority and this will provide a good platform to practise,” he said.

Another elite Indian athlete is Irappa Akki, who had come fourth in the previous edition with a timing of 1:05.07.

“I had been running 10 km races, but now I want to focus on half-marathons and marathons,” said the 27-year-old.

In the women’s section, the absence of last year’s winner Kavita Raut and runner-up Preethi Rao, who had also come first and second respectively in the half-marathon event in Mumbai in January, will put runners such as Shastri Devi and Sukanya Mall in advantageous positions.

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