Kolkata, Dec 9 (PTI) Asian Games silver medallist Kartik Kumar and Olympian Gopi Thonakal alongside in-form Tamsi Singh will challenge an exciting international line-up at the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K here on Sunday.

Long-distance runner Kartik, who bagged silver in the men’s 10,000m race at the Hangzhou Asian Games, will be the one to watch out for in the Indian elite men’s race.

The 24-year-old had become the first Indian to win a medal in the 10,000m since Gulab Chand in 1998.

Kartik finished as runner-up among Indians with a timing of 1:04:08 at the Delhi Half Marathon in October and had also won the Indian elite crown in 2022 with a personal best time of 1:04:00.

Challenging Kartik in every step will be another champion runner and experienced Gopi.

The 35-year-old Olympian is the first Indian to win the Asian Marathon Championship in 2017 in China with a timing of 2:15:48.

He was also a winner of the New Delhi Marathon in 2017 and 2018, clocking 2:15:37 and 2:15:16 respectively.

Besides Kartik and Gopi, Asian Games bronze-medallist Gulveer Singh is also in the fray.

The 25-year-old had bagged a bronze in the men’s 10,000m race at Hangzhou with a timing of 28:17.21.

He narrowly missed out on another medal at the Games after finishing fourth in the 5000m race.

At the 2023 National Games in Bambolim, Goa, last month, he finished third in the 10,000m race.

The current event record in the Indian elite men’s category stands in the name of Avinash Sable – 1:15:17 – and L Suriya holds the Indian elite women’s mark with a timing of 1:26:53. Tamsi will start as favourite for Indian women’s honours and will be looking to sign off a successful year on a high, having won the Indian women’s category at the World 10K in Bengaluru, clocking 00:34:12.

Challenging Tamsi will be Ekta Rawat, who finished eighth among Indian women’s elite field at the Delhi Half Marathon with a timing of 1:21:30.

Source: PTI News