Nitendra Rawat determined to win redemption race

Nitendra Singh Rawat

Army man Nitendra Singh Rawat stole the headlines when he won the 2016 Mumbai Marathon with a new course record (by an Indian) of 2:15:48 eclipsing the previous mark of 2:16.59 set by set by Ram Singh Yadav in 2012. It also ensure he qualified for the Rio Olympics.

However, a hamstring injury just before the race saw Rawat finish a poor 84th. He was severely criticised and dropped from the 2018 Commonwealth Games as well as the Jakarta Asian Games squads. The upcoming Tata Mumbai Marathon on Sunday could be his race to redemption.

"Rio was the lowest point of my life. I had planned so much for it. The next four months after that were stressful. I isolated myself. People used to send me rude messages. The tendency of Indian people is that if you don't perform as per their expectations, they criticise you. Even when people used to call me an Olympian, I would wonder if they are saying it sarcastically," the Uttarakhand-based runner told mid-day yesterday.

He now wants to not just win on Sunday but do it in style once again. "Nothing less than breaking my own course record will suffice," said Rawat. "I want to answer my critics. I will let my running do the talking," added Rawat, who will face a stiff challenge from defending champion and another army man Gopi T, who clocked 2:16:51 last year [three seconds faster than Rawat then].

Rawat has another incentive to do well here. "My goal is to finish inside the qualifying mark of 2 hours, 16 minutes for the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Doha [September-October]. I'm confident of achieving that," Rawat signed off.

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