Hyderabad:Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday batted for a fit and healthy India saying that people should take care of their health. Speaking after flagging off the Half Marathon and the 10K Run of the Ageas Federal Hyderabad Half Marathon, Tendulkar said that he was heartened to see the response of the runners from Hyderabad.
"'It is a fabulous experience to be in Hyderabad. It is a movement about fit India, healthy India. Almost 8,000 participants, which is very pleasing to know, because, like I said we have this tendency of sitting back and admiring others, and we like to clap for others, enjoy watching sport," Tendulkar told reporters.
"But are taking care of our health, by involving ourselves in some physical activity, that change is taking place. The whole idea (of the initiative) is to get people to do something which is physical (and) get them to (lead a) healthier lifestyle....," added Tendulkar, who has numerous records, to his name including most ODI runs and most ODI hundreds.
Runners took part in three categories - Half Marathon (21 K), 10K and 5K. Visually impaired runners took part in the run, which started from the Gachibowli Stadium.
Athletics Federation of India chief Adille Sumariwalla and India's chief national coach for badminton and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand also were present on the occasion among others to boost the morale of the runners.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Prajakta Godbole and Telangana’s B Ramesh Chandra cantered to victory in the prestigious Ageas Federal Life Insurance Hyderabad Half Marathon 2023, here on Sunday.
Ramesh Chandra cracked the 21.1 kms in one hour 13 minutes and 10 seconds to be crowned Half Marathon champion. Satish Kumar (1.15:50) and Piyush Masane (1.16:56) tailed him to the finish line to take the other two positions on the podium in this category.
Among women, 28-year-old Prajakta Godbole underlined her reputation as one of India’s top distance runners by covering the half marathon distance in an impressive one hour 23 minutes, and 45 seconds. Preenu Yadav (1.24.46) and Tejaswini Umbkane (1.25:11) grabbed the second and third places behind her.