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Telangana's B Ramesh Chandra and Maharashtra's Prajakta Godbole cantered to victory in the prestigious Hyderabad Half Marathon 2023, here on Sunday.
On a pleasant morning with a cool breeze for comfort, Ramesh Chandra cracked the 21.1 km in one hour, 13 minutes, and 10 seconds to be crowned half-marathon champion. Satish Kumar (1.15:50) and Piyush Masane (1.16:56) tailed him to the finish line to take the other two positions on the podium in this category. Among women, 28-year-old Prajakta Godbole underlined her reputation as one of India's top distance runners by covering the half-marathon distance in an impressive one hour, 23 minutes, and 45 seconds. Preenu Yadav (1.24.46) and Tejaswini Umbkane (1.25:11) grabbed the second and third places behind her. Cricketing icon and brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar flagged off over 8,000 runners at the crack of dawn, making the Hyderabad Half Marathon 2023, organized by NEB Sports, one of the biggest running events down south. Later, Tendulkar, along with Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach of the Indian Badminton team, felicitated the winners of the Half Marathon. "I congratulate the winners of this edition of the Hyderabad Half Marathon. I am pleased to see such an impressive turnout and congratulate not just the winners but everyone who participated across all the categories with the determination to run ageless, run fearless," Tendulkar said. "It is our pleasure to be part of the HHM as the title sponsor. Our goal is to make it even bigger in future editions so that a fearless culture of running seeps in among the youth," Vighnesh Shahane, MD & CEO, Ageas Federal Life Insurance, said. "We thank all the participants and encourage the enthusiasts to keep running through the year," he added. The Timed 10K was a straight fight between Chetan Kumar (0.34:21) and Bharat Singh (0.35:13) for the most part, before Chetan surged into the lead to take the crown. Nikhil Erigila (0.35:24) came in a commendable third. Among women, Sheelu Yadav (0.41:34) was the clear winner, taking the title by a big margin of 7 minutes. Muskan (0.48:29) and Yankey Dukpa (0.50:04) finished second and third. Results Half-Marathon Men: 1. B Ramesh Chandra (1:13.10); 2. Satish Kumar (1:15:50); 3. Piyush Masane (1:16:56) Women: 1. Prajakta Godbole (1:23:45); 2. Preenu Yadav (1:24:46); 3. Tejaswini Umbkane (1:25:11) 10K Men: 1. Chetan Kumar (0.34:21); 2. Bharat Singh (0.35:13); 3. Nikhil Erigila (0.35:24) Women: 1. Sheelu Yadav (0.41:34); 2. Muskan (0.48:29); 3. Yankey Dukpa (0.50:04). (ANI)
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