Harmanjot, Lili Das headline strong Indian elite field for Delhi Half Marathon

New Delhi: Reigning World 10K Bengaluru Indian Elite champion Harmanjot Singh and former winner Lili Das will headline a strong Indian contingent for the 21st edition of the Delhi Half Marathon, with 22 men and 20 women set to compete in the Indian Elite category here on October 18.

Harmanjot will make his debut at the World Athletics Gold Label Road Race carrying the distinction of being the fastest runner in the Indian Elite field. The 2026 Asian Cross Country Championships silver medallist has a personal best of 1:01:46, recorded at the Alwar Tiger International Half Marathon.

The 2026 season has already provided Harmanjot with significant confidence, having won the Indian Elite race at the World 10K Bengaluru before securing silver at the Asian Cross Country Championships.

“Winning in Bengaluru and taking silver at the Asian Cross Country this year has given me a lot of confidence going into Delhi. The Delhi Half Marathon is one of the toughest races in the country, with a field that pushes you to your limit, and I am looking forward to testing myself against the best elite runners over the half marathon distance. I will give it everything on race day,” said Harmanjot Singh.

Kiran Matre, meanwhile, will return to a familiar setting after finishing second among the Indian elite men at last year’s Delhi Half Marathon. That performance also produced his half marathon personal best of 1:04:57.

Matre, the 2024 World 10K Bengaluru Indian Elite champion, will have to contend with Kartik Karkera, who enters the race after winning the Indian Elite men’s title at the 2026 Mumbai Marathon and finishing third among the Indian elite runners in Delhi last year.

The field will also feature Uttar Pradesh’s Prince Kumar, who is returning to the half marathon circuit after an extended break. Prince won the 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the 2025 Open National Athletics Championships before adding the 5,000m gold at the South Asian Athletics Championships.

In the women’s race, two former Delhi Half Marathon Indian Elite champions, Lili Das and Kavita Yadav, will spearhead the challenge.

Das claimed the Indian Elite Women's title in 2024, while Yadav emerged victorious in 2023. Their return adds experience to a field that also includes Olympic and World Championship steeplechaser Ankita Dhyani.

Dhyani made an encouraging transition to the half marathon last year, finishing fifth among the Indian Elite women in her debut over the distance.

Asian Games 2023 steeplechase bronze medallist Priti Lamba will further strengthen the women’s field, having previously finished on the Indian Elite podium in Delhi.

The Indian Elite race also carries a substantial financial incentive, with the top three finishers in both the men’s and women’s categories set to receive Rs 3.5 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh respectively.

An additional Rs 1 lakh will be awarded for breaking the Indian Elite event record. The men’s mark stands at 60:30, set by Avinash Sable in 2020, while L. Suriya holds the women’s record of 70:31, established in 2017.

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