New Delhi, Feb 25 : In a thrilling finish to the tape, Army Sports Institute's Gopi Thonakal pipped his teammate Srinu Bugatha to win the New Delhi Marathon crown here on Sunday. Gopi, who had set his eyes on the National Record (2:12) set by Shivnath Singh in 1978, finished in 2:14:40 to take the gold medal. It was just short of his own personal best (2:13:39) that he had achieved in 2022.

The pace set by Gopi helped first runner-up Srinu Bugatha (2:14:41) better his own mark of 2:14:59. Akshay Saini clinched the bronze medal in 2:15:27, making the Delhi Marathon one of the fastest races by Elite Male in recent times.

Ashwini Jadhav wiped off four minutes from her personal best (2:56:42) on her way to the full marathon gold medal among Elite Women. She clocked an impressive 2:52:25. Nirmaben Thakor (2:55:47) and Divyanka Chaudhary (2:57.06).

"The marathon was very competitive in both the Male and Female categories. The male runners tried their best to achieve the Paris Olympics but it was just beyond their reach," NEB Sports' Nagraj Adiga, also the Race Director, said. "We all salute them for their effort," he added.

"We congratulate all the winners. We also thank Delhi for coming out in full force. To see over 19,000 participants was a dream come true," Satish Sharma, President, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA) at Apollo Tyres Ltd, said at the success of the event.

Umesh took the popular 10K gold, streaking to an easy victory in 32:02. Sapan Panchal (00:32:50) and Abdul Rehman (00:33:00) took home the second and third prizes.

Among women, Rozi (00:37:28) was the star winner.; Riya Pandey (00:43:04) and Deepali Malhotra (00:43:44) won the silver and bronze medals.

RESULTS

Marathon

Elite Men: 1. Gopi Thonakal (2:14:40); 2. Srinu Bugatha (2:14:41); 3. Akshay Saini (2:15:27)

Elite Women: 1. Ashwini Madan Jadhav (2:52:25); 2. Nirmaben Bharatjee Thakor (2:55:47); 3. Divyanka Chaudhary (2:57.06)

Half-Marathon

Men: 1. Harmanjot Singh (1:03:52); 2. Kiran Matre (1:03:57); 3. Dharmender (1:04:06)

Women: 1. Tashi Ladol (1:24:34); 2. Stanzin Chondol (1:28:18); 3. Stanzin Dolkar (1:28:27)

10k

Men: 1. Umesh (00:32:02); 2. Sapan Panchal (00:32:50); 3. Abdul Rehman (00:33:00)

Women: 1. Rozi (00:37:28); Riya Pandey (00:43:04); 3. Deepali Malhotra (00:43:44).

/IANS