Deep Chand sets sight on CW Games

Putting on his running shoes for the first time in two months,Deep Chand came into the Indian Open Marathon on Sunday to test whether his ankle has fully healed.

Putting on his running shoes for the first time in two months,Deep Chand came into the Indian Open Marathon on Sunday to test whether his ankle has fully healed. Two hours and 22 minutes later,he walked away with the first prize,richer by Rs2.5lakh.

Despite the effort,Deep Chand,who is a Subedar in Rajputana Rifles,was a bit disappointed as he felt he could’ve done better. “I know I can run faster than that,” he told Sportline. “The race started at 9am,which is a bit late as it becomes hotter. It affected my performance,” added Deep Chand,whose personal best is 2hours 19minutes.

With the aim to run in the Commonwealth Games in October,he said the event was crucial as it gave him an idea about the state of his ankle.

“My doctor advised me to start running to strengthen the ankle and on his consent I started training. As soon I came to know about this event,I thought it was an apt platform to check if it was holding well. My seniors in the Army also encouraged me and that is the reason I bagged a gold medal,” added Deep Chand,who first victory came in the Pune International Marathon in 2004.

Also aiming for the Commonwealth Games is Sukanya Mall,the winner in the women’s category. Still in college,Sukanya has to her credit consecutive golds at the Allahabad Marathon in 2008 and 2009. The young athlete clocked 2 hours and 59 minutes on Sunday for her third big title,improving on her second place finish here in 2008.

Among the probables’ list for the Commonwealth Games,Mall was also way off her personal best — 2 hours and 49 minutes clocked in Allahabad last year.

Training hard at her hometown in Gorakhpur,she believes there is an ample scope for improvement.

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