Indian Elite athletes set to take on their International counterparts at Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2016

OP Jaisha will be in action on Sunday

All Elite Indian Men and Women athletes unite for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon to be held on 17th January 2016. This year the marathon will feature the biggest names from the track and field and distance running athletes from India.

Leading the pack in the men’s full marathon category is Nitendra Singh Rawat, who made his mark at the recently held World Military games and qualifying for the Rio Olympics. His focus is his competition with his international contemporaries and is hoping to break the current course record set by Ram Singh Yadav in 2012, 2:16.59.

On his preparation for SCMM 2016, Nitendra Singh Rawat said, “All athletes have been training together for the last 9 to 10 months in Ooty and Dharamshala. Personally, I have been training really hard and I feel confident to win this year’s marathon. My target will be to break the course record.” 

The women’s contingent will be led by Rio Olympic qualifier, O P Jaisha, who hails from Kerala and the current full marathon national record holder for her performance at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2015.     

 O P Jaisha on her participation at SCMM 2016 said, “I have been training really hard for the last one year and four months in Ooty. I will just be concentrating on my run and not bother about other runners. Although the competition is tough, I am determined to perform well and win the event. Running a marathon has definitely helped me build strength and endurance and this will help me compete aggressively in other races of my choice.”

Central Railway athlete Lalita Babar is a 3000 metres steeplechase specialist and is the current Indian national record holder in this same category. She is a three-time winner of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. 

Lalita Babar on her preparations for the Rio Olympics and SCMM 2016 said, “The marathon is a very competitive event and my target is to beat the Elite international athletes. It will be tough to run in the hot weather of Mumbai, but I am positive about my performance. Our training has been better than last year. Although I will be participating in the steeplechase event at the Rio Olympics, SCMM will be a good event to win and encourage me for the future.”

In the half marathon category, we will see Indrajeet Patel return to claim his place at the top, having placed first at the 2014 and 2015 edition of SCMM. Another participant who makes a comeback from SCMM 2014 is Soji Mathew. Arjun Pradhan, Kheta Ram and Elam Singh among others will be part of this year’s marathon. Other women athletes to watch out for are Sudha Singh,  Kiran Sahdev, and Supriya Patil.  Monika Athare, second place winner from the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2014 will also be running on 17th January.