College goers Chandan Yadav and Ravina Gayakwad won the men’s and women’s titles respectively in the 8th Ageas Federal Life Insurance Half Marathon 2024 in Mumbai on Sunday morning.
The seasoned Yadav, the 21-year-old from the Badohi district in Uttar Pradesh who has quite a few podium finishes to his credit, breasted the tape in 1:11.01 minutes after surging ahead of the pack about half a kilometre before the finish line. Nitish Kumar trooped in second in 1:11.54 while Piyush Masane secured a distant third place in 1:13.20 minutes.
In the women’s run, 19-year-old Ravina from Maharashtra’s Nashik, made her debut in the 21K a memorable one, winning by a comfortable margin in 1:27.43 minutes. She finished almost two minutes ahead of Senait Lesharge (1:29.41) while Rukamani Bhoure settled for bronze in 1:31.23 minutes. The wiry Ravina had trained for just three months for this event after taking to athletics only recently.
“I worked hard for this win and timed my breakaway to perfection,” said an elated Chandan Yadav after receiving his winner’s cheque and medal from cricket icon and Ageas Federal Life Insurance brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar.
In the Men’s 10K race, Yuvraj Yadav raced to glory in 31.50 with Manish Kumar Nayak taking silver in 32.14 3 and Amit Mali the bronze in 33.25. In the Women’s section, Sonali Desai returned to winning ways for the second year in succession clocking 39.47 mins while Divya Pingale wrested second place in 41.50 and Rajni Tyagi stood third in 43.52.
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Over 20,000 runners took part in the event organized by NEB Sports. The races started and ended at the Jio Gardens in the Bandra Kurla Complex. Runners competed in four race categories – 21K, 10K, 5K and 3K family run and a special race for over 1,000 school children. The field included over 1,500 athletes from the Indian Navy besides blind and disabled runners.
A team of visually impaired runners assisted by Guide India Runners also took part along with physically disabled, wheelchair athletes and other specially-abled participants. Over 150 kids from the Mitrayana NGO also participated in the event for the first time.
Speaking on the sidelines, Sachin Tendulkar spoke, with great warmth, of the energetic and exciting atmosphere that permeated the event and the increase in the participation of women runners.
“As Indians, we love sports, but it’s time to embrace sports as a way of life by participating in various sports for their mental and physical benefits. Our partnership with marathons across India has yielded success. I was thrilled to see Mumbaikars wake up early not only to run but also to cheer on the participants! Congratulations to the runners who completed the distance and to all those who participated in the shorter runs. Let’s keep embracing sports as a lifestyle choice!” he said.
Expressing happiness over the staging of yet another edition of the event, Arvind Shahi, CEO, Ageas Federal Life Insurance, said, “It is indeed a proud moment for us at Ageas Federal Life Insurance to organize yet another successful edition of the Mumbai Half Marathon. In fact, this is the 8th edition of the MHM this year, that speaks volumes of our commitment to promote health and physical fitness in India.
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