Delhi Half Marathon is inaugurated by Lieutenant -Governor VK Saxena and Chief Minister Velha Gupta.

New -delhi, October 11 (IANS). The 20th edition of Delhi Half Marathon is inaugurated by Chief Minister Velha Gupta and Lieutenant -Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena. More than 40,500 participants participate in this major road race of Asia. The world’s most sought after half marathon begins on Sunday from Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The race has a total of US $ 260,000 prize money and contains some of the world’s best international and Indian runners. In addition, those who break the record of 58 minutes and 53 seconds also get a bonus. There is also an extra price of $ 2,000 for completing the race within less than 60 minutes. Among Indian athletes, the runner -up who creates a new record of 1 hour 30 seconds receives a prize of Rs 2 Lakh. For the first time this year, all three military will participate in the half marathon category, with senior officers such as the Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh (Air Force), Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh (Army) and the companies of the Admiral LS Pathania (Navy). General Anil Chauhan, head of defense staff, will also attend the event. In addition, Jammu and Kashmir, chief minister Omar Abdullah, will run in the half marathon with his sons, which will take part in the 10 kilometers category. Olympic legend and international events, Carl Lewis, will contribute to the excitement on the streets of the capital to rejoice and inspire the participants to give their best in this historic 20th edition. There will also be join Olympic bronze medalist Sarabjot Singh and the Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist Tejaswin Shankar. The Indian Elite series is led by the Asian champion and multiple national record holder Gulvir Singh. Abhishek Pal and Kiran Matre will lead the men’s line team. Lily Das will also return to defend her crown as the defending champion. She will encounter a tough competition from players like Sanjivani Jadhav and Ankita Dhyani. Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2025 will see an impressive mix of world champions in the international elite field. Kenya’s Bandard Biwott, winner of the 2025 Paris Marathon, will lead the men’s lineout along with Olympic 5000 m silver medalist Ronald Kwemoi, who makes his half marathon debut. In the women’s race, defending champion Alemadis Iyayu wants to make it two consecutive titles. Lilian Rengaruk, a global medal and the Olympic finalist, is joined with the Kenya’s Lilian Rengaruk. Apart from specific competitions, Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon personifies the spirit of togetherness and community involvement. As always, the opportunity runners will participate in half marathon, open 10 km, Great Delhi Run, senior Citizen Run and champions with categories for disabilities. The race day starts at 05:00 from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with the half marathon (21.097 km) and the police head. The Elite athletes men’s and women’s half marathon starts at 6:50, followed by the champions with disabilities and senior citizens (2.5 km) at 07:00. The open 10 km run starts at 07:30 from Sansad Marg, which leads to the final event of the morning, the big Delhi track (4.5 km), which will start at 09:00. About 10,000 women participate this year. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation offers free Metro travel on the day of the race for all registered runners. Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon is sent directly on Sony Sports 1 and Sony Sports 1 HD on October 12 from 06:15. -—IANS PAK