Monthly Archives: May 2009

The mediamen were taking pictures from the media truck when the backpanel of the vehicle opened out, sending them tumbling onto the road. Srikanta Sharma R (Deccan Herald), Syed Asif (Times of India), Selva Prakash (DNA), Vinod Karimat (India Express) and Faheem (Bangalore News Photos) suffered bruises while Venkatesh P (Kasturi TV), fractured his leg. The organisers tendered an apology. Continue reading →

A little over a month ago, Merga had triumphed in the Boston Marathon, crushing his Kenyan rivals along the way. And just a week back, he brushed aside another Kenyan en route to a sensational win in the Ottawa 10K race.The script was very much similar on Bangalore’s roads as Merga dominated the men’s elite race, timing 28 minutes and 13 seconds to take home the top prize of US $21,000. Playing second fiddle this time was Kenya’s Mark Kiptoo in 28:15, while his compatriot Bernard Kipyego came in third 28:24.It was an Ethiopian Super Sunday with Alsefech Mergia winning the elite women’s race after a long battle with Kenya’s comeback Mum Mary Keitany in 32:08, even as thousands of Bangaloreans turned up to join in the fun in different segments of the competition.Overnight rains had brought the temperature down to a comfortable 22 degrees celsius at the start of the race but Merga still found it hot as he settled for a time that wasn’t up to his expectations. “It is fantastic to win but the heat and humidity bothered me,” said the 28-year-old. “I am not at all happy with the time and my rivals too didn’t push me hard enough.”On the eve of the race, Merga had talked of setting a hot pace. True to his word, the Ethiopian took off early but he had some close followers with Kiptoo, Kipyego and Wilfred Kipsang staying in touch with the leader. Rwandan Dieudonne Disi was with the lead pack initially but fell back after the two-km mark. There were hopes of a good time when the half-way point was reached in 13:53 but the runners, perhaps troubled by the weather, eased off a bit, dashing those hopes.After six kilometres, Kipyego and Kipsang fell behind, and from then on, it was left to Merga and Kiptoo to fight it out. Merga, always in control, opened up a four-metre lead after 8km and protected it till the entry into the Sree Kanteerava Stadium before building on it in the final lap around the track. Kipsang, who was expected to challenge Merga, finally ended up fourth, behind Kipyego, in 28:30.“My next target is the World Championships in Berlin. I want to do well in the marathon there,” said a delighted Merga, who was fourth in the Beijing Olympics marathon, losing the bronze narrowly to compatriot Tsegaye Kebede.The women’s race was more closely fought. Six to eight runners were bunched together for most of the race with Keitany heading it. After eight kilometres, Keitany, Mergia and Aberu Kebede settled in the first three places with Hilda Kibet left behind in fourth place. Once the runners entered the stadium, the order changed decisively as Mergia overook Keitany with about 250 metres left.The Ethiopian comfortably warded off Keitany’s comeback efforts in the sprint to the finish, picking up another top prize from Indian soil, having won the Delhi half-marathon last year. Keitany, in her first race after becoming a mother 11 months back, timed 32:09 for the silver while Kebede took the bronze in 32:11. Kibet came in fourth, clocking 32:22. Continue reading →

The 21-year-old Sandeep, a ticket examiner with the Indian Railways, timed 30:02 to finish just ahead of compatriot Kashinath Aswale, who clocked 30:08.The lure of big prize money proved irresistible for Kashinath, who competed in the Asian Grand Prix series that concluded in Hong Kong on Saturday before taking the flight to Bangalore. Arriving here at 2.00 in the morning, he travelled straight to the stadium to prepare for the race.The effort was worth it in the end, as he took home Rs 40,000 for the second-place finish, besides a share from the Nation’s Challenge earnings.Kavita Raut was the best among Indian women, timing 34:32 to finish 14th overall. Preeja Sreedharan (34:40) was overall 15th and Preethi L Rao (35:21) 17th.“This was my first 10K race and I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Kavita. “I had heard so much about this race, so it was nice to do well here, along with my friends Preeja and Preethi.”Karnataka won the Nation’s challenge, with the team of Santosh Kumar, Ajay and Preethi turning in an aggregate time of 1:35:58. Maharashtra were second and Gujarat, featuring Aswale, third.10K ResultsElite men (10K): Deriba Merga (Ethiopia) 28:13, 1; Mark Kiptoo (Kenya) 28:15, 2; Bernard Kipyego (Kenya) 28:24, 3.Elite women (10k): Aslefech Mergia (Ethiopia) 32:08, 1; Mary Keitany (Kenya) 32:09, 2; Aberu Kebede (Ethiopia) 32:11, 3.Nation’s challenge: Karnataka (Santosh, Ajay, Preethi L Rao) 1:35:58, 1; Maharashtra (ID Akki, Tilak BC, Kavita R) 1:36:10, 2; Gujarat (Sandeep K, Kashinath, Jaisha OP) 1:37:45, 3.Top Indians: Men: Sandeep Kumar 30:02 (overall 16th), 1; Kashinath Aswale 30:08 (overall 17th), 2; Santosh Kumar 30:13, (overall 20th) 3.Women: Kavita Raut 34:40 (overall 14th), 1; Preeja S 34:40 (overall 15th), 2; Preethi L Rao 35:21 (overall 16th), 3. Continue reading →

Another talent lost, it certainly seemed, but after her comeback performance in Bangalore on Sunday, that doubt can easily be stashed away. Keitany, surely, is back for more.The 27-year-old Kenyan finished second behind Ethiopia’s Aselefech Mergia in the elite women’s race at the Sunfeast World 10K, timing 32 minutes and 09 seconds. For someone running her first race after childbirth, it was a fantastic effort.Light on her feet, Keitany was in the front for most of the race before losing out in the final stages but she took plenty of positives out of this race. “It is very nice to come back,” she said. “It was a good race, the course was pretty flat, the weather was okay, it felt good to be back,” added the Kenyan who has a best of 31.10 on the road.That came in the first phase of her career, when she was a force to reckon with in road races, mainly on the half-marathon circuit, with three wins coming in 2007 alone. She was also second in the world road running championships that year behind Lornah Kiplagat, who broke the world record then. But marriage to fellow athlete Charles Koech and pregnancy thereafter forced her to rein in her ambitions. The call of the road, however, proved irresistible.“I started training again only four months back. It was very tough initially. Forty minutes of workout would seem like an hour’s training but I persisted and slowly got better,” she said.It is her first trip away from her 11-month old son Jared Kipchumba, who is under the care of her husband back in Iten, Kenya. While Keitany is keen to return home to her son, she is also eager to explore more of her hidden talent. “My aim now is to do well in marathon, I think I can do well in the longer race,” she said. Continue reading →

"It is harder. No one is going to go out and bowl six yorkers (in an over) because the batsmen have developed and fine-tuned their ‘lap’ (reverse) shots," said Bracken, considered one of the best bowlers in death overs."Guys like Jacob Oram (New Zealand) and Albie Morkel (South Africa) have their shots. So it is important not to make a mistake, not to miss the mark."I enjoy the challenge. It’s what I do, but it is hard," said the left-armer ahead of the ICC World Tewnty20 starting on June 5 in England.Australia have been drawn against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the toughest group of league stage and Bracken admitted getting to the Super Eights would not be easy."Sri Lanka has a 60 per cent win rate, while Pakistan’s is incredible … it is up around 75 per cent … so it won’t be easy. No one should be considered an easy team; we’ve lost to Zimbabwe in T20 before," he told ‘Sydney Morning Herald’. Continue reading →

Kenyan’s Mark Kiptoo came second clocking 28:15 second followed by Bernard Kipyego from Kenya at 28:24 seconds at the event which saw a turnout of over 23,000, comprising of participants from all walks of life, including students.Merga was the winner of the Houston and Boston Marathon and of the Delhi half marathon.Kenyan Wilson Kipsang, who was touted to give stiff competition to Merga, given the fact that he was second behind Kipsang in the Ras-al-Khaimah half marathon early this year, came fourth clocking 28:30 seconds.In the overall Elite Women’s section it was again Ethopia that clinched the first position with Mergia Asslefech, the hot favorite, clocking 32:08 seconds..Mary Keitany of Kenya came second at 32:09 seconds followed by Ethopia’s Aberu Kebede at 32:11 second followed by the Kenyan-born Dutch woman, Hilda Kibet ranked fourth at 32.22 seconds. The Dutch woman who has had the fastest time amongst the elite women with a personal best of 31:01 which she clocked in Holland last year, failed to beat Mergia, known for her strong sprint finish.The event which saw long-distance African running superpowers vie for the title, witnessed some interesting moments as the titans clashed on the roads. It was a close finish in the elite women category as Asslefech reached the finish just one second ahead of Mary. It was a neck-and-neck fight between Olympian Mergia and silver medallist Mary, forcing Mary to settle for the second spot.In the beginning it appeared that the race belonged to the Ethopian atheletes, but Mary overtook Aberu, pushing the athelete to the third position.A dissapointed Mary said "though I was leading right from the beginning, I could not maintain my stamina just near the winning post".Mergia bagged the prize money of USD 21,000 while Mary took home USD 10,000 and Aberu 5000. Continue reading →