Gurgaon: Veteran runners at the Gurugram Marathon, or those over 45, have been asked to wait for a day or two as the district administration needs time to “verify” their age before announcing the winners.
Unlike others, who got their medals from chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, the older athletes were told they would be felicitated by the administration later.The para-athletes weren’t any luckier.
The categorisation itself was unusual at the event. Instead of the usual five-year age gaps at other marathons, there were only two categories here – ‘Open’ and ‘Masters’. While the ‘Open’ category had multiple prizes for the full, half and 10km races, ‘Masters’ had only for the first position in the full and half marathons.
“We train just as hard as the younger runners, if not harder. Some of us have been participating in marathons for decades. But here, we were made to feel like our achievements didn’t matter as much,” said 68-year-old Kuldeep Singh, a retired CISF jawan from Sonipat who has taken part in over 50 marathons across the country.
“It sends across a message that our performances are not valued. Many veteran runners I know were upset with the decision to verify the ages later. We deserve better,” he added.
Shailesh (25), who won the 10km run in the specially abled category, was unhappy too after being told he would have to collect his prize money from the administration office. But the fact that the organisers set aside a category for the specially abled encouraged him. “This will help in our upliftment.” Sona Yadav, a teacher at the District Institute of Educational Training and a professional racer, said, “I have been participating in marathons all my life and won many of them. But here, the treatment given to us wasn’t satisfactory.”
Dr Sapna Sharma, a sports psychologist who has worked with many athletes, said such treatment could dent their motivation. “For seniors, who have dedicated their lives to racing, public recognition of their achievements is very important. Making them wait to receive awards only undermines their efforts,” she added.
(With inputs from
Sharad Koli and Rachita )
Unlike others, who got their medals from chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, the older athletes were told they would be felicitated by the administration later.The para-athletes weren’t any luckier.
The categorisation itself was unusual at the event. Instead of the usual five-year age gaps at other marathons, there were only two categories here – ‘Open’ and ‘Masters’. While the ‘Open’ category had multiple prizes for the full, half and 10km races, ‘Masters’ had only for the first position in the full and half marathons.
“We train just as hard as the younger runners, if not harder. Some of us have been participating in marathons for decades. But here, we were made to feel like our achievements didn’t matter as much,” said 68-year-old Kuldeep Singh, a retired CISF jawan from Sonipat who has taken part in over 50 marathons across the country.
“It sends across a message that our performances are not valued. Many veteran runners I know were upset with the decision to verify the ages later. We deserve better,” he added.
Shailesh (25), who won the 10km run in the specially abled category, was unhappy too after being told he would have to collect his prize money from the administration office. But the fact that the organisers set aside a category for the specially abled encouraged him. “This will help in our upliftment.” Sona Yadav, a teacher at the District Institute of Educational Training and a professional racer, said, “I have been participating in marathons all my life and won many of them. But here, the treatment given to us wasn’t satisfactory.”
Dr Sapna Sharma, a sports psychologist who has worked with many athletes, said such treatment could dent their motivation. “For seniors, who have dedicated their lives to racing, public recognition of their achievements is very important. Making them wait to receive awards only undermines their efforts,” she added.
(With inputs from
Sharad Koli and Rachita )