Suresh, Kavita take honours among Indians in World 10K

BANGALORE: Rank outsider Suresh Kumar proved pre-race predictions wrong to emerge champion among Elite Indian men in the TCS World 10K on Sunday.
The Uttar Pradesh native, currently in the Indian camp for the London Olympics preparatory camp, touched the tape in 30 minutes 17 seconds and became richer by Rs 2 lakh. In the overall list, he finished 20th. Dangi VL came second with a time of 30:25 seconds while Kheta Ram took the third spot clocking 30:25.The Army Sports Institute athletes won Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh respectively for their efforts.
Kumar, who competed in the Asian Games and who won the gold in the National games, was elated to pocket his first gold on his debut road race. "I am very happy with my win. I owe a lot to my coach Bhatia sir who prepared me for this race. The course was little up and down and it was humid," said Kumar who is with ONGC on a sports scholarship.
Kumar said it was a big learning experience running with the world's best. "I tried to cover them but they were too fast," he said.
Second placed Dangi was disappointed with his effort which was slower than his pace in Hyderabad. "I thought I would do well but then a Kenyan fell in front of me and I lost time. Then I was always doing catch-up," said the Army man.
Kavita reigns supreme
Kavita Raut of Maharashtra clinched the top spot among elite Indian women athletes with a time of 35:09 seconds. The Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medalist in 10,000 metres, however, could not break her own course record of 31.51 seconds set in 2009. But Kavita, who returned after a long break, said she was happy with her performance. "This my first race after the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. I am happy with my performance," she said.
Asked about the rigours of competing against athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia, she said: "Indian athletes are catching up with them. Till 6km, I gave them a good fight. My best timing in Bangalore is 31.59. Today's winner clocked 33.19 seconds. So I think it is not impossible to beat them," she said.
On the humidity factor, she said: "Compared to Mumbai, where I am coming from, Bangalore weather is excellent," she said. Raut took home Rs 2 lakh for her winning effort.
Sudha Singh, 3000m steeplechase gold medalist in Asian Games, came second with a time of 35:28 seconds while Priyanka Singh Patel finished third clocking 37.04 seconds. Sudha became richer by Rs 1.5 lakh while Priyanka took home a purse of Rs 1.2 lakh.
Sudha felt that 10k was not as gruelling as expected. "Currently I am training in Sports Authority of India (SAI) Bangalore South Centre. So I am used to the climate. And the competition was not as difficult as I expected," said the UP athlete.
Priyanka Singh, meanwhile, said she was happy win the third place finish. "This is my first attempt in 10k. Kavita and Sudha are experienced athletes. So I am happy to finish at No. 3," she said.
Results:
(Indian men, top-10): 1. Suresh Kumar (30.17seconds); 2. Dangi VL (30.25); 3. Kheta Ram (30.34); 4. Indrajeet Patel (30.38); 5. Sandeep Kumar (30.53); 6. Sanjith Luwang (30.56); 7. Raspal Singh (30.58); 8. Mukesh Rawat (31.11); 9. Pritam Bind (31.26); 10. Santosh (31.33).
Women: Kavita Raut (35.09 seconds); 2. Sudha Singh (35.28); 3. Priyanka Singh Patel (37.04); 4. Lalita Babbar (37:19); 5. Kiran Tiwari (37.27); Swati Gawade (37.41); Anuradha Singh (37.49); Jhumma Khatun (38.15); Savita Devi (38.36); Vijay Mala Patil (38.46).