Deepak Bhatt wins National Senior Athletics Competition 10000m; Parashuram disqualified

The men’s 10,000m saw Uttarakhand’s Deepak Bhatt clock 29:42.93 to take the top spot on the opening day of the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition at Birsa Munda Stadium, Morabadi, here on Friday.

Bhatt, who not only won his first national medal but also recorded a personal best, surged ahead in the final lap to go past Karnataka’s Shivaji Parashuram, who suffered severe dehydration and collapsed at the finish line. He was in such bad shape that he had to be carried off the track and took quite a while to recover.

Although he finished second, Parashuram was later disqualified under World Athletics Technical Rule 17.2.4 for stepping outside the track limits.

It wasn’t only he who struggled with the heat and humidity, despite the starting time being 6:25 am. In the end, as many as eight athletes did not finish the race.

But Indian chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair did not want to blame the weather. “It was definitely humid, there’s no doubt about that. But most athletes are trained to compete in such conditions. Even now, if you look anywhere, temperatures are high across places, so you can’t really blame that alone. However, those who are not properly trained to run in these conditions can struggle and may get dehydrated,” said Nair.

Also, struggling during the race was Kartik Karkera, the orthopedic surgeon who made headlines by winning back-to-back marathons and qualifying for the Asian Games. He was lapped at one stage and finished in 32:03.14.

After Parashuram’s disqualification, Shailesh Kushwaha of Karnataka was placed second with a time of 29:57.56, while UP’s Prashant Choudhary finished third in 30:36.97.

The women’s 10,000m title, meanwhile, went to Ravina Gayakwad of Maharashtra, who clocked 35:30.98. Uttarakhand’s Soniya was second in 36:16.22, while Aarti Pawara of Maharashtra finished third in 36:24.79.