World 10k Bengaluru 2022 | Parul Chaudhary and Abhishek Pal crowned Indian champions
Parul Chaudhary and Abhishek Pal were declared new champions in the Indian men's and women's fields, respectively, at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru. Parul cruised to victory, hardly swerving from the pack's lead, but Sanjivani Jadhav kept up with her until the group approached the Kanteerava stadium
“The route was a little hilly,” Parul remarked of the course, which she has competed in twice. “But it was good because we practice for this. I’m happy with the test I did for speed.” Parul's last sprint allowed her to finish first and achieve a personal record in 10K road running of 34:38. At 34:44, Sanjivani Jadhav ended six seconds shy.
Komal Jagadale was the day's biggest surprise, breaking away from the pack in the final 350m and finishing in 35:28. Komal, a steeplechaser, had an outstanding maiden 10K run, finishing ahead of her seniors. “I didn’t think I would place on the podium,” Jagadale said. “I didn’t care much about chasing the international athletes because I was busy competing against the Indian field itself.”
The racing conditions were influenced by the rain to differing degrees by all three podium finishers. “The rain didn’t affect me much because I dealt with it like a steeplechaser,” Jagadale laughed.
Abhishek Pal took first place in the men's field at the World 10K Bengaluru 2022 in 30:05, followed by Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh in 30:06. Both Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh had never run a 10K on the road before, and both racers, who train together at an Ooty camp, were happy with their results.
“It was a little tough in some places [with the puddles on the road from the rain]. There may have been a mistake in the middle, but I didn’t want to overtake the seniors too much,” said Kartik jokingly. “It feels nice when everybody gets a medal.”
Gulveer joined in on the good mood as he talked about his race preparation. "Because we all work out together, the plan was to trail the two in front." While Gulveer, who has never competed in a 10K road race, is yet to qualify for the Asian Games, Abhishek and Kartik have qualified for the 5k event. “I’m happy that I won here this time. It’s my third time here at TCS World 10K – I placed fourth in 2017 but couldn’t finish in 2019 because of a knee injury.”
The men's and women's overall titles were won by Kenyans Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli and Irene Cheptai, respectively.