HANGZHOU: India's Man Singh finished eighth in the men's marathon at the Qiantang River Green belt clocking a time of 2:16:58 here on Thursday. The second Indian in the fray, Belliappa AB, finished 12th in 2:20:52. Both the Army men were unable to break Shivnath Singh's national record of 2:12:00 set in 1978.
China's Ji He took the gold in 2:13:02 followed by Ilryong Han of North Korea in 2:13:27. He's countryman Shaohui Yang grabbed the bronze medal (2:13:39).
Man Singh's coach Younis Khan said he was happy with his trainee's show. "He had a decent show - neither good nor bad. Considering that he had a bout of fever recently, this is a good show," Khan said.
Next up for Man Singh is the Mumbai marathon scheduled in January where he is the defending champion in the Indian Elite section, the coach said. "To qualify for the Paris Games, it will be helpful if he gets a chance to run in international marathons," Khan said.
Results: Marathon: Men: 1. Ji He (Chn, 2:13:02); 2. Ilryong Han (North Korea, 2:13:27); 3. Shaohui Yang (Chn, 2:13:39); 8. Man Singh (Ind, 2:16:59), 12. Belliappa AB (Ind, 2:20:52). Women: 1. ECP Chumba (Brn, 2:26:14); 2. D Zhang (Chn, 2:27:55); 3. S Trofimova (Kgz, 2:28:41 SB).
