New Delhi, October 8, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Reigning World 10K Bengaluru Indian Elite champion Harmanjot Singh and former Delhi Half Marathon winner Lili Das will headline a strong Indian field at the 21st edition of the Delhi Half Marathon, scheduled for October 18.
A total of 22 men and 20 women will compete in the Indian Elite category at the World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.
Harmanjot will make his Delhi Half Marathon debut as the fastest runner in the Indian Elite field. The 2026 Asian Cross Country Championships silver medallist has a personal best of 1:01:46, recorded at the Alwar Tiger International Half Marathon.
The 2026 season has been a confidence-building one for Harmanjot, who won the Indian Elite race at the World 10K Bengaluru before securing silver at the Asian Cross Country Championships.
“Winning in Bengaluru and taking silver at the Asian Cross Country this year has given me a lot of confidence going into Delhi. The Delhi Half Marathon is one of the toughest races in the country, with a field that pushes you to your limit, and I am looking forward to testing myself against the best elite runners over the half marathon distance. I will give it everything on race day,” Harmanjot said.
Kiran Matre will return to a familiar course after finishing second among the Indian Elite men at last year’s Delhi Half Marathon. His performance also produced his half marathon personal best of 1:04:57.
The 2024 World 10K Bengaluru Indian Elite champion will face competition from Kartik Karkera, who won the Indian Elite men’s title at the 2026 Mumbai Marathon and finished third among the Indian Elite runners in Delhi last year.
Uttar Pradesh’s Prince Kumar will also return to the half marathon circuit following an extended break. He won the 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the 2025 Open National Athletics Championships before adding the 5,000m gold at the South Asian Athletics Championships.
In the women’s field, former Delhi Half Marathon Indian Elite champions Lili Das and Kavita Yadav will lead the challenge. Das won the Indian Elite women’s title in 2024, while Yadav emerged victorious in 2023.
The field also includes Olympic and World Championship steeplechaser Ankita Dhyani, who finished fifth among the Indian Elite women in her half marathon debut last year.
Asian Games 2023 steeplechase bronze medallist Priti Lamba will further strengthen the women’s field. She has previously finished on the Indian Elite podium in Delhi.
The Indian Elite category also offers significant prize money, with the top three finishers in both men’s and women’s races receiving Rs 3.5 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh respectively.
An additional Rs 1 lakh will be awarded to any athlete who breaks the Indian Elite event record. The men’s record stands at 60:30, set by Avinash Sable in 2020, while L. Suriya holds the women’s record of 70:31, established in 2017.
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