Kiran bags men's crown

Kiran Kumar Raju and Neera Katwal clinched the Duathlon (Individual) men’s and women’s titles respectively in the second leg of the Ajmera Thump! Corporate Sports Challenge event, organised by Electronics City Industrial Association (ELCIA) on the elevated expressway in Electronics City on Sunday.

Dubbed as India’s first duathlon on the country’s longest elevated national highway, the event was flagged off at 6.45 am on a breezy morning.

The duathlon involved 18 km of cycling and 5 km of running for men while the women slugged it out at 12.6 km of cycling and 5 km of running for their titles. In the men’s section, Kiran claimed gold with a timing of 53:18 while Naveen S bagged the silver at 54:13. Raman Garimella had to be content with the bronze at 54:50.

27-year-old Kiran was a happy man after annexing the yellow metal. “I was expecting a podium finish but not the first place,’’ he added.

Neera was the runaway winner in the women’s duathlon clocking 54:38 to land the spoils while Chaithrali Pavnaskar was a distant silver medallist at 56:28 and Sowmya settled for the bronze at 1:01.24.

Neera was composed after the win saying she thoroughly enjoyed the event.
“It was very nice to compete here, very entertaining for everyone. Cycling on the expressway with less traffic was a pleasure,’’ the 37-year-old added.

Meanwhile, Hewlett Packard (HP) completed a clean sweep in the duathlon men’s corporate relay. Swaroop Joseph and Prince pocketed the yellow metal clocking 58:13, while their compatriots Pradeep Venkatramu and Anthony Maradona were the second placed team at 1:00.40.

The bronze medal winners were Ajanth Kumar and Devendra Singh with a timing of 1:03.32. It was a one-two for HP in the corresponding women’s relay with the combine of Roshika Chengappa and Shamala garnering the gold snapping the timer at 61:48. Their colleagues Sandhya Niranjan and Shwetha Bhaktavatsala were over 10 minutes off the pace taking the silver medal at 72:30. Cognizant’s Preeti Kumar and Roopa KN managed the bronze at 78:23.


Results: Duathlon (Individual): Men: Kiran Kumar Raju (53:18) 1; Naveen S (54:13) 2; Raman Garimella (54:50) 3.

Women: Neera Katwal (54:38) 1; Chaitrali Pavnaskar (56:28) 2; Sowmya (1:01.24) 3.
Duathlon: Corporate Relay (Men): Hewlett Packard (Swaroop Joseph, Prince) 58:13, 1; HP (Pradeep Venkatramu, Anthony Maradona) 1:00.40, 2; HP (Ajanth Kumar, Devendra Singh) 1:03.32, 3.

Corporate Relay (Women): HP (Roshika Chengappa, Shamala) 61:48, 1; HP (Sandhya Niranjan, Shwetha Bhaktavatsala) 72:30, 2; Cognizant (Preeti Kumar, Roopa KN) 78:23, 3.