Bengaluru, May 15 (PTI) Defending champion Abhishek Pal will headline the Indian elite challenge, hoping to clinch the title for the second successive time at the 15th TCS World 10K Bengaluru here on Sunday.

The event will see a record 27,000-plus participants.

Abhishek, who won the previous edition with a time of 30:05, is likely to face competition from Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh, both of whom finished just behind the winner.

This year, the Indian elite line-up, which has a cash purse of Rs 2,75,000 each for men’s and women’s winners with a further Rs 1,00,000 course record bonus, will also see Olympians in contention with the in-form T Gopi and Nitendra Singh Rawat lacing up at the start-line.

“I am excited and eagerly looking forward to race day once again this year. It was an enjoyable race last year, and I am hoping to put on a show and defend my title this year,” Abhishek said in a release.

“This year, with more elite runners added to the line-up, it will be quite a challenging yet exciting race.” Both Kartik and Gulveer finished their races with a time of 30:06 and took their places on the podium next to Abhishek.

Along with Abhishek, Kartik and Gulveer, there will also be the likes of Pravin Khambal, Harmanjot Singh, Tirtha Pun, Kiran Mathre and Dinesh, all of whom will be eyeing improvements in their timings from last season and also a spot on the podium.

In the women’s section, the upcoming edition could see a new athlete being crowned champion.

Sanjivani Jadhav, the 2019 champion, will once again line up at the starting line, with an eye on another winner’s medal.

The Nashik-born athlete will be vying for her third title in this event and has been in good nick after a title win in the Delhi Half Marathon last year.

“I missed out on the title last year by a small margin, but this year, I have been preparing hard for the race and will give it my very best to win the race again,” Sanjivani said.

In 2022, Parul was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 34:38, while Sanjivani bagged silver as she finished moments later, with the clock reading 34:44.

Sanjivani will face competition from the experienced Kavita Yadav and Preenu Yadav, both of whom finished in the top-10 in the previous edition.

Source: PTI News