New Delhi: The Indian elite women also expressed their readiness to excel in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday, also hoping to take home the course record bonus of Rs 1 Lakh announced by promoters Procam International.

2010 Asian gold medallist Sudha Singh, defending champion Lalita Babar, World 10K Bangalore 2012 winner Monika Athare, ADHM 2011 runner-up Kiran Tiwari and Mumbai Marathon 2012 winner Priyanka Singh Patel were present at the media Meet & Greet session.

2012 London Olympic qualifier Sudha, who had been to Kenya for training, felt she would stand a chance this time to give some of the Kenyans a tough fight. “We and the Kenyans trained together and worked hard, following the same routine. Here in Delhi, we have the home advantage and we can give tough competition to the Kenyans,” she stated.

She added that they could hold on to the pace of the Kenyans in the initial stages and the challenge for them would be to hold on in the later stages.

Among the Indian women, course record holder Kavita Raut is expected to be among the front runners and will have for competition her city mate Monica Athare, the talented teenager who is making waves in the distance running circuit.

According to Sunita Godara, the coordinator for Indian elites, this year’s Indian field is among the strongest, with 73 men, having clocked below 1hr 10 mins, and 33 women, clocking below 1hr 30mins.

By Indian Sports News Network