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Sanjivani Jadhav won the Indian women’s marathon title on her debut, clocking 2:49:02 to finish tenth overall at the Mumbai Marathon. Kartik Karkera claimed the top Indian men’s spot with a personal best of 2:19:55. Nirmaben Thakor and Sonam completed the women’s podium, while Anish Thapa and Pradeep Chaudhary finished second and third among men.

Mumbai: Sanjivani Jadhav is a name that has been associated with distance running in the country for well over a decade. However, excelling in a marathon on her debut at the distance gave her immense joy.

She clocked 2:49:02 on her maiden attempt to finish overall tenth among the women runners and first among the Indian women.

Reflecting on her achievement, she said, “I’m really happy, I feel amazing. This was my first time running a marathon, and I won. After 35 km, I knew I was going to win gold.”

The experienced Nirmaben Thakor, who was gunning for a hat-trick of marathon wins, finished a distant second at 2:49:13. Speaking after the race, she said, “I had trained really hard and was aiming for gold, but hard luck, maybe next time.”

Sonam completed the podium in third with a time of 2:49:24, describing the race as a learning experience rather than a battle. “I kept following my senior and trained with her,” she said. “I learned how to manage my pace and run a marathon. It wasn’t a competition; we were running like sisters.”

For Kartik Karkera, who trains in Russia, it was only a second marathon of his career. No one paid much attention to him at the beginning as he entered the fray with a nondescript 2:30:30 for a fifteenth place in the Moscow Marathon last year. A regular metric miler, Karthik surprised several experienced Indian road runners like Anish Thapa and Srinu Bugatha in today's race as he finished with a new PB of 2:19:55 to snatch the Top Indian Male runner's prize in Mumbai.

Speaking after his victory, Kartik said, “This was my first marathon in Mumbai, and it feels great to win on my debut. I had to push through the challenging course, but I enjoyed being here in Mumbai and participating in this special race. My next goal is to qualify for the Asian Games.”

Defending champion Anish Thapa delivered another solid performance to finish second in 2:20:08, reinforcing his consistency at the Mumbai Marathon. Anish remained in contention through the race before settling for a podium finish. Reflecting on his run, he said, “Delighted to finish second, but I think I could have done better.”

Completing the podium in third with a time of 2:20:49, Pradeep Chaudhary reflected on a difficult race. “I was extremely nervous, and midway through the race I started experiencing cramps, which forced me to stop briefly. The upcoming season is crucial for me, with a packed calendar that includes the Asian Games,” he said.

The top three finishers in the Indian Elite men’s and women’s categories received prize money of INR 5 lakh, INR 4 lakh and INR 3 lakh respectively.