New Delhi, October 07: Asian Games 2023 silver medallist in the 10,000m race Kartik Kumar and Defending Champion Sanjivani Jadhav will headline the Indian elite athletes in the men’s and women’s categories at the 18th Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. The event will be held at the Indian capital on Sunday, 15 October 2023.
Kartik Kumar, who is a very successful 10,000m runner, recorded his personal best (1:04:00) at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon last year. He was also the runner-up at the TCS World 10K 2022, Bengaluru with a timing of 30:06. Kartik became the first Indian to win a medal in the 10,000m event at the Asian Games since Gulab Chand in 1998. Kartik’s compatriot Gulveer Singh won a Bronze in the same event.
Speaking about running in Delhi once again, Kartik said, “It’s always exciting to be a part of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. The atmosphere is absolutely electric and brings out the best in me. I am feeling very confident after my performance at the Asian Games and hopefully, I will be able to win this year at Delhi.”
Kartik, however, will face stiff competition from the winner of the Dhaka Half Marathon 2023 Abhishek Pal, the champion of the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2023 Half Marathon Murali Kumar Gavit and National marathon winner Srinu Bugatha.
Experienced marathoners Kalidas Hirave and Durga Bahadur will also vie for a place on the podium in the Indian Elite Men’s category.
Meanwhile, Defending Champion Sanjivani Jadhav will lead the charge in the Indian Elite Women’s category. She recorded a timing of 77:53 in the last edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon and also won the TSK 25K 2022. Moreover, Jadhav clinched the bronze medal in the 5000m event at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships and triumphed in the 10,000m event at the National Federation Cup in 2022.
Jadhav expressed her excitement about returning to the capital city, “The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon is one of the most prestigious running events in the world. The fast track always helps us to put in our best performance and I am looking forward to retaining my title.”
However, the defending champion will receive strong opposition from the winner of the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2023 Tamshi Singh and the champion of the New Delhi Marathon 2019 and 2020 – Jyoti Gawate in the Indian Elite Women’s Race.
The USD 268,000 prize money will see tens of thousands of amateurs join the world’s best elites on one of the fastest courses in the world.
The Indian elite winners in the men’s and women’s categories will take home INR 4,00,000 each and the prize money includes the top 10 finishers in both. In addition to this, there is an Event Record Bonus of INR 1,00,000 and a performance bonus for athletes finishing under a certain time.
Promoted by Procam International, pioneers in distance running events in India, the event is supported by the title sponsor Vedanta, a globally diversified natural resources company. Joining them are other sponsors including the exclusive Associate Sponsor IDFC FIRST Bank, a world-class bank in India that’s guided by ethics, powered by technology, and is a force for social good.
“We are very fortunate to have a robust Indian Elite line-up for the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2023. It’s our privilege to have athletes, who have brought glory to our country, in recent years. Furthermore, along with providing a platform to international stars, it has always been our endeavour to help the runners of our country push the envelope on the biggest of stages,” said Vivek Singh, Jt. MD, Procam International.
The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon will be flagged from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on 15th October 2023.
The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon will be telecast live on Sony Sports 1, on October 15 from 6:30 am to 10:30 am.
ABOUT VEDANTA LIMITED
Vedanta Limited (“Vedanta”), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading natural resources companies spanning across India, South Africa, Namibia, Liberia, UAE, Korea, Taiwan and Japan with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, Nickel, Aluminium, Power & Glass Substrate and foraying into semiconductors and display glass. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector, is committed to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 or sooner and aims to spend $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate this transition. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on various social impact programs and its flagship project, Nand Ghar is setting up model anganwadis across India. Vedanta Ltd. has been listed in Dow Jones Sustainability World Index 2022, conferred Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2023. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
ABOUT IDFC FIRST BANK
IDFC FIRST Bank’s vision is to build a world-class bank in India that’s guided by ethics, powered by technology, and a force for social good.
Philosophy: The Bank has a customer-first philosophy offering high-quality products including current accounts, savings accounts, fixed deposits, retail loans, business loans, corporate banking, cash management solutions, FASTag, wealth management, and 24/7 customer care services. IDFC FIRST bank is one of the select banks to work with the regulator for pilot projects for many banking technology initiatives for India like CBDC, UPI for foreigners etc.
Unique Benefits for customers: The Bank is the first and only bank in India that offers Zero fees for 28 essential services on savings accounts including for ATM cash withdrawals, IMPS, RTGS, NEFT, Cash Deposits and Cash withdrawals at branches, SMS Alerts, Cheque book, Demand Drafts, Pay-order, duplicate statements, etc. IDFC FIRST Bank is the first bank to offer monthly credit on savings accounts, so customers earn more with us. The bank’s credit cards have unique features such as lifetime free, never-expiring rewards points, zero interest on cash withdrawal at ATMs and low APR.
Ethics First: IDFC FIRST Bank prioritizes ethics in all its dealings and product design. The Bank believes income earned unethically is not worth earning. The Bank applies a “Near and Dear” Test in all product design, so that the employees of the Bank serve only such products to customers that they’d want for their own loved ones.
Transformation: IDFC FIRST Bank has transformed from infrastructure to retail banking in four years since merger, increasing CASA ratio from 8.6% to 46.5% (June 30, 2023) and increased Retail Deposits as % of total deposits from 27% to 77%, and set up 824 branches and 1,069 ATMs.
Financial Performance: The Bank recorded a PAT of Rs. 765 crore (~US$ 93 million) in Q1-FY24, with strong Capital Adequacy of 16.96%. The Bank has high asset quality, with Retail, Rural & SME book having Gross NPA of 1.53% and Net NPA of 0.52% as of June 30, 2023. Overall Gross NPA including infrastructure is 2.17% and Net NPA is 0.70%.
ESG Goals: The Bank is highly committed to ESG. The Bank has high governance scores, the business lines naturally support social goals, and efforts are ongoing to achieve environmental goals.
ABOUT PROCAM INTERNATIONAL
Since its inception in 1988, Procam International has been the driving force behind the growth and development of sports management in India. Founded by Anil and Vivek Singh, Procam is India’s premier sports management company and is involved in live events, sports consultancy, and live television production.
With astute planning and exemplary execution, Procam has a track record of conceptualising and promoting over 100 international events, across the disciplines of Powerboat Racing, Cricket, Football, Tennis, Distance Running, Squash, WWE, Horse Racing, Volleyball, among others. These events have elicited participation of the highest calibre of athletes and huge public interest and attendance.
Pioneers of the distance running movement in India, Procam International’s Big 4 – Tata Mumbai Marathon, Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Tata Consultancy Services World 10K and Tata Steel Kolkata 25 K — are global leaders in their respective distances. They have ushered in a running revolution that has helped redefine, the health, fitness, and ‘giving’ paradigm of our country.
