Defending Champions Srinu Bugatha and Thakor Nirmaben Set to Compete in Mumbai Marathon 2025

Mumbai, Jan 6 (NationPress) Defending champions Srinu Bugatha and Thakor Nirmaben Bharatjee will be the focal point of a talented Indian Elite field as they prepare for the 20th edition of the Mumbai Marathon 2025, scheduled for January 19.

The men’s race will feature notable athletes including Man Singh, the reigning Asian marathon champion, Olympian Gopi T, who has won the event twice and finished as a runner-up three times, along with the seasoned Kalidas Hirve, who secured fourth place in the 2024 marathon.

In the previous year, Gopi triumphed at the 2024 New Delhi Marathon, clocking a time of 2:14:40, narrowly edging out Bugatha by just one second.

Maharashtra’s Hirve, who finished third in 2023, demonstrated his strong form by winning the recent Vasai-Virar Mayor’s Marathon.

This World Athletics Gold Label event will also mark the debut of Kartik Kumar, the silver medallist from the 2023 Asian Games in the 10,000m, as he tackles the classic marathon distance in Mumbai. Kartik’s personal best marathon time stands at 2:22:50, achieved at the Bengaluru Marathon in October 2022. Also competing will be Harshad Mahtre, who finished fifth in the last marathon.

In the women’s race, Nirmaben, who was the runner-up at the 2024 New Delhi Marathon and finished fourth at the World 25K Kolkata 2024, faces tough competition from Sonika Parmar and Reenu, the winner and runner-up of the 2024 Coal India Ranchi Marathon. Arati Patil, who came in second in the 2023 edition, will also be in contention.

The top three finishers in both the men’s and women’s Indian Elite categories will receive prize money of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4 lakh, and Rs 3 lakh respectively, from a total prize pool of USD 390,238.

An additional incentive of Rs 2 lakh will be awarded for breaking the current event records, held by Nitendra Singh Rawat in the men’s category (2:15:48, 2016) and Sudha Singh in the women’s category (2:34:56, 2019).

Indian Elite Athletes for Mumbai Marathon 2025

Men: Gopi Thonakal, Man Singh, Srinu Bugatha, Pradeep Singh Chaudhary, Anish Thapa Magar, Kalidas Hirave, Sher Singh, Kartik Kumar, Sarvesh Kumar, Yogesh Kumar Sharma, Harshad Mhatre, Vikram Bangriya, Pankaj Dhaka, Late Changdev, Anant Gaonkar, Prathamesh Paramkar, Nikhil Singh, Dev Singh Dagar, Pankaj Singh, Subhash Saini, Deepa Ram

Women: Sonika Parmar, Thakor Nirmaben Bharatjee, Arati Patil, Reenu, KM Laxmi, Jigmet Dolma, Shymali Singh, Aradhana Kumari, Bhagwati Dangi, Jyoti Pal, Disket Dolma, Neeta Patel, Bhagirathi Bisht, Pooja, Sonam, Yamini Thakare, Seema