Becker graces Kolkata 25K run

Kolkata, Dec 18: G. Lakshman of Tamil du and Monika Athare from Maharashtra won the men’s and women’s categories respectively as tennis great Boris Becker graced the 25K Kolkata marathon run here on Sunday. In the men’s run, it was a close finish as Lakshman clocked 01:17:16, a course record, while second placed Srinu Bugatha fell two seconds short at 01:17:18. A.B. Balliappa was third at 01:17:24. In the women’s section, Jyoti Gawte clocked 01:35:34, a minute and 19 seconds short from winner Monika Athare who finished at 01:34:15. Monika Raut was third at 01:35:37.

Becker, a six-time Grand Slam champion and ex-coach of World No 2 Novak Djokovic, was the centre of attraction with many runners clicking selfies with the youngest Wimbledon winner. The 49-year-old German, donning an orange t-shirt and black track pants, happily obliged. Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly was also present. West Bengal Governor Keshari th Tripathi flagged off the event. IANS