Mumbai Marathon: Srinu Bugatha, Sudha Singh win Indian Elite

Army manSrinu Bugatha and defending champion Sudha Singh won the Indian Elite athlete men and womens category respectively in the 17th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon held on Sunday.

Arjuna Awardee Sudha Singh clinched the title with a timing of 2:45:30s.

"My aim was for a hat-rick this year. The route was also good. I attained my best timings last year but the climate was humid and hot, whereas the weather was more suitable this time. My overall experience was good. I want to thank my coach Bijendra Singh," Sudha said on her performance.

Overall Sudha stood 10th in the Marathon, which was won by Ethiopian Amane Beriso, clocking 2:24:51.

First time full marathon runner and Army man, Srinu Bugatha finished first among Indian runners by clocking 2:18:44.

"I am thankful to my pacers for their help. I am happy but I feel I would have clocked a better timing than this. My pace dropped at the last kilometre and I couldn't make a proper recovery from that. Regardless, I am looking forward to performing better in my upcoming marathons," he said.

Srinu's overall ranking stood at 13th, with a gap of 10:35 seconds between him and Derara Hurisa, the winner of the International Elite Full Marathon.

Sher Singh, who was participating for the first time in the Tata Mumbai Marathon, finished second clocking a timing of 2:24:00.

Sher said, "I started the race with Srinu Bugatha and kept my pace along with him steadily till 35km after which I slowed down. The route was good but the weather was quite humid."