<p>Thirty two-year old Babu Bhai, a Havildar, retained the title he had won in the previous edition at Bhopal, clocking 1 hr 33.22 secs.<br /><br />He edged out teammate Harvinder Singh by 14 secs, who clocked 1 hr 33.36 secs. Madhya Pradesh's K Somendra Singh settled for bronze with a timing of 1 hr 34.43 secs.<br />Babu led from the start and maintained the lead to clinch the gold. Second place was a close contest till three laps from the end, when Harvinder increased his pace to outwit Somendra.<br /><br />An elated Babu Bhai, whose best timing was 1 hrs 23.06 secs, told PTI that hot and humid weather conditions here had affected his performance.<br /><br />"The event began under pleasant weather condition, but sudden rain midway affected my performance. Prior to this championship I was in Himachal Pradesh for training. The sudden change from cold condition to hot and humid weather also hindered my performance," Babu Bhai said.<br /><br />He said he did not exert much under these conditions, as suggested by his coach.<br /></p>
<p>Thirty two-year old Babu Bhai, a Havildar, retained the title he had won in the previous edition at Bhopal, clocking 1 hr 33.22 secs.<br /><br />He edged out teammate Harvinder Singh by 14 secs, who clocked 1 hr 33.36 secs. Madhya Pradesh's K Somendra Singh settled for bronze with a timing of 1 hr 34.43 secs.<br />Babu led from the start and maintained the lead to clinch the gold. Second place was a close contest till three laps from the end, when Harvinder increased his pace to outwit Somendra.<br /><br />An elated Babu Bhai, whose best timing was 1 hrs 23.06 secs, told PTI that hot and humid weather conditions here had affected his performance.<br /><br />"The event began under pleasant weather condition, but sudden rain midway affected my performance. Prior to this championship I was in Himachal Pradesh for training. The sudden change from cold condition to hot and humid weather also hindered my performance," Babu Bhai said.<br /><br />He said he did not exert much under these conditions, as suggested by his coach.<br /></p>