About 5500 participate in Jharkhand’s 1st Coal India Marathon
Team News Riveting
Ranchi, March 26
The first edition of the Coal India Marathon organized by Central Coalfields Limited on Sunday under the aegis of Coal India Limited (CIL) was a grand success.
About 5500 athletes from across the country participated in the mega event conducted in four categories: 42 km full marathon, 21 km half marathon, 10 km run and a 5 km run. This was the first officially registered marathon of Jharkhand in which various bureaucrats, defence force personnel and people from all walks of life participated.
There were separate categories for women and men. The runners started the marathon from Birsa Munda stadium, Morabadi and after going though Kanke and Pithoria finally returned to the Birsa Munda Stadium. The total prize money for the event was Rs 29.70 Lakh that was distributed in different categories. The winner of 42 km got Rs 3 Lakh while the half marathon winner in both categories netted Rs 2 Lakh. The winner of the 10 km run got Rs 1 Lakh.
The full marathon race commenced at 4.30 am and the half marathon race commenced at 4.55 am. The 10 km race started at 5.30 am while the 5 km race began at 8.30 am. The run was flagged off by Pramod Agrawal, Chairman Coal India Limited in the presence of Principal Secretary (Revenue) K K Soan, Padmashri Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Padma Shri Shiny Wilson Padma Shree, Ms Premlata Agarwal CMD CCL P M Prasad, CMD, CMPDIL Manoj Kumar, Director (Pers), CIL Vinay Ranjan, Director Technical/Operations Ram Baboo Prasad, Director (Personnel) Harsh Nath Mishra, Director(Finance) P K Mishra, Director(P&P) B Sairam, CVO CCL Pankaj Kumar, Director ( Pers), NCL Manish Kumar Director, (Pers) ECL Smt. Ahuti Swain, Director (Pers) BCCL M.K. Ramaiah, Abu Bakr Siddiqui IAS and other subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited. The families of the dignitaries also graced the occasion.
There was a sense of jubilation in the air, which was amplified by the loud music, LED screens where the event was streaming live and the amazing arrangement of the organizers. The runners braved the early morning chill to participate in the event and complete the run. The arrangements for the marathon included facilities like a medical point, hydration point, entertainment programs and energy stations. Enthusiasm was electrifying when this group of some of the best runners in the country were enjoying the scenic beauty of Ranchi while competing with each other.
Chairman CIL Pramod Agrawal stated Coal India Limited is organizing this event to create awareness about the importance of physical fitness amongst the public. CMD, CCL P M Prasad said that such events will foster a spirit of sportsmanship, camaraderie amongst the people and the company will continue organizing such events in future. Dir (Pers), CIL Vinay Ranjan expressed his delight at the successful completion of the event. Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu and MLA Kanke Samri Lal also graced the occasion.
Padma Shree Awardees Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Padma Shri Shiny Wilson Padma Shree Ms Premlata Agarwal also congratulated the organizers for successfully conducting the event and hoped that such events will encourage a new generation of runners in Jharkhand who will make the state and country proud.
Various eminent sports personalities like Harbans Singh Suri, who competed in the marathon at the 1964 Olympics, along with former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar, and cricketer Ashok Malhotra , have also encouraged the public to participate in the marathon and expressed their delight that the Marathon was being organized in Ranchi. The Athletic federation of India provided the technical support for the event.
The runners who came from different parts of the country were extremely happy with the facilities provided during the marathon and said that Coal India should keep on organizing such events in the future also.
The top rank in the Full Marathon men’s 42 km category was secured by Arjun Tudu hailing from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand who clocked a time of 2 Hr twenty-five minutes and fifty-four seconds while Shri Anil Kumar Singh an army personal stood second. In the female category of the full marathon, Ms Sonika Sonika from Haryana was first and she completed the run in 2 Hrs forty-five minutes and eight seconds, while Ms Tamsi Singh secured the second position. In the half marathon of 21 km male category, Prince Kumar bagged the first prize with a timing of One Hr five minute and four seconds while in women category Rima Patel a railway employee from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh secured the first position.
Under the CSR initiative of the company, a cycle was also gifted to a young female athlete, Ms Asha Malviya, from Madhya Pradesh, who was journeying the entire country on her by cycle, which unfortunately broke down in Jharkhand. She has covered eleven states on her cycle and will continue her journey further to North East India.
Over a hundred technical officers from the Athletic Federation of India and Jharkhand Athletics federation along with volunteers and security personnel , emergency medical team, from CCL left no stone unturned to make the event a success. The entire premise and the route was cleaned by the company after the completion of the event.
