Mumbai: Srinu Bugatha defied all odds to emerge the champion in the Tata Mumbai Marathon half marathon, which was held here on Sunday. The 16th edition, which saw over 46,000-odd taking part in different events saw Srinu, hit the time buzzer at 1:05:49 hrs to lay his hands on the medal and get his name engraved in the richest marathon of the country. He did look tired when he spoke about his race to the journalists, but was forthcoming in sharing his experience. “It is definitely one of the happy moments in my life and this will go a long way,” said Bugatha after the race. But, there was something which raised many an eye brows as he said that he ran against his doctors advice.”I have been waiting for the race, and sadly I was hit by typhoid a few days ago, and my doctor was against me running, as it was just ten days after I had recovered from the illness, but I wanted to take part, and I am so relieved that the participation got converted into a win,” which is a amazing feeling, said the employee of Madras Engineering Group in Bengaluru.
A resident of Vijayanagaram in Andhra Pradesh has proved he has the potential to win marathons as he has won the race Bhopal marathon in the year 2016. He has been a regular entrant in long distance running and has many laurels to cap it with. “Now, I will graduate and move to the full marathon and this title has boosted my morale,” said Bugatha. His first taste of victory came in 10,000m at the Hyderabad event in the year 2015, since then he has been moving up in the race ladder and has taken part in any events such as 10ks, 25ks and even in the last years Mumbai marathon. “I wanted to make the cut into the world qualifying, but I was unfortunate as I could not take part in full marathon but I am happy that I could make it with half which is a big win for me,” said the athlete. Whether he should have considered the advise of doctors is debatable but he certainly seemed fit enough to leave his opponents trailing behind after 11km mark. Bugatha finished the race in 1.05.49 hrs, 18 seconds ahead of the second best Shankar Man Thapa who finished on 1.06.07. In third place was Kalidas Hirave with timing of 1.06.38 hrs.
