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Indian elite athletes Avinash Sable, Parul Chaudhary eye top honours at ADHM 2020

Indian athletes Srinu Bugatha (L) and Avinash Sable (R) with event ambassador Abhinav Bindra
Indian athletes Srinu Bugatha (L) and Avinash Sable (R) with event ambassador Abhinav Bindra

New Delhi [India], November 27 (ANI): The top Indian elite athletes -- Avinash Sable, Srinu Bugatha, Abhishek Pal and Pradeep Singh in the men's category, and Parul Chaudhary, Chinta Yadav and Sanjivani Jadhav in the women's category -- will face off against each other for the top spot in the 16th edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday.

The elite runners will be at the start line at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium while the amateurs from across the globe will join them via the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon Mobile App.

During a media conference on Friday, Avinash Sable, who is the national record holder in the 3000m steeplechase, expressed that the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is a very important event for the athletes.

"We've been only training so far and therefore the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is very important for us. We need to get back to competition mode and find out how much we have improved. Endurance is required for both, steeplechase and marathon, so the two events complement each other for me," said Sable.

Defending champion Srinu Bugatha added that ADHM will be a bit different without spectators this year, "The preparations for the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon have been good. It always feels great when there are spectators, but this time the event will be different due to the situation."

Parul Chaudhary, who has finished second in the last two editions of ADHM, also expressed delight about getting back to competition mode.

"It's always great to run here at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. I have to do a bit more this year to bag the first position as I have been finishing second in the last two editions of ADHM. I have practiced a bit harder as far as I am concerned. It's great to be back in the competitive space again as only training without competitions is not enough," said Chaudhary.

Chinta Yadav, who finished third in the last edition of ADHM, said that she's well prepared for the race on Sunday, "I trained really well last year and that's what helped me to improve my timing by six minutes. I feel I have prepared well for this year's ADHM and I think I will perform well." (ANI)