Mumbai, Jan 7 (IANS): Former Asian champion Gopi T. and 4-time winner Sudha Singh will lead the Indian challenge in the 18th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon, which will be run on Sunday, January 15, here.
The Indian Elite field will be spearheaded by Olympian Gopi T, a former champion and the first Indian to win the Asian Marathon Championship in 2017. Also toeing the start line will be defending champion Srinu Bugatha, Kalidas Hirave and Rahul Kumar Pal, the 2019 Pune International Marathon champion.
Olympian and Arjuna awardee Sudha Singh will be gunning for her fifth Indian Elite women's title and will be challenged by Jigmet Dolma, runner-up here in 2019 and 2017.
The Indian men's and women's full marathon winners will bag INR 500,000 each, with a further INR 150,000 course record bonus on offer as an incentive.
In the half marathon category, 2016 winner Deepak Kumbhar and defending champion Parul Chaudhary will lead the men's and women's fields respectively.
Meanwhile, the organisers issued a curated report -- Socio-Economic & Health Impact 2020 Report -- detailing the role of the Mumbai Marathon.
The report highlights how the race has been a pioneer in changing India from a spectator sports nation into a participative sports nation, how its efforts have led to a cascading effect for the sport of running in India; how it has had a positive domino effect on the ecosystem, its impact on the social outlook towards running and sports and its dedication to social causes and charity.
Vivek Singh, Jt. MD, Procam International, said, "We are privileged to announce that over 55,000 will participate across categories at this year's Tata Mumbai Marathon. This event is a part of Mumbai's DNA and we are overjoyed to see the event's popularity grow despite the two-year gap. With the help of our sponsors and partners, we've worked hard to build a running movement that the entire world is excited about. We encourage the people of Mumbai to come out with renewed vigour and greet the Marathoners with a warm & enthusiastic welcome, which has become the hallmark of Mumbai. See you all at the start line on January 15!"