Bengaluru world

World Athletics Gold Label Road: Defending champions Hayle Lemi Berhanu and Anchialem Haymanot will face a tough challenge from their country-mates Kinde Atanaw and Sofia Assefa in the 19th edition of Mumbai Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, to be held on Sunday.

Atanaw (30), is leading the men’s field with the fastest personal best time of 2:03:51 clocked four years ago in Valencia. The Ethiopian runner, who finished third in the Bengaluru World 10K in 2014, is returning to run in India after nearly a decade. He was not successful in his post-Covid outings in the last few years. He could not finish the London Marathon last year after finishing fourth in 2022. “I wanted to make a difference this time and looking for a big and memorable win here” he revealed.

Defending champion Lemi (29), however expressed he is confident of retaining the title as he showed a tremendous form while finishing fifth with a notable time of 2:05:48 in Amsterdam about three months ago. Lemi, however, possesses the knowledge to act according to the situation as he is backed with much marathon experience among all competitors who entered here for this year’s race.