New Delhi, 08 October (H.S.): Procam International, organisers of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, on Thursday announced the Indian elite field for the 21st edition of the World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on October 18. The event will feature 22 men and 20 women in the Indian Elite category.

In the men’s field, Harmanjot Singh and Kiran Matre will spearhead the Indian challenge. Harmanjot is the reigning Indian Elite champion at the 2026 TCS World 10K Bengaluru and a silver medallist at the 2026 Asian Cross Country Championships. He will make his Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon debut on October 18.

With a personal best of 1:01:46, Harmanjot enters the race as the fastest runner in the Indian Elite field. He clocked the time at the Alwar Tiger International Half Marathon.

“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 Singh said.

Kiran Matre, who finished second among the Indian elite men at last year’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, will also be among the leading contenders. He set his half marathon personal best of 1:04:57 in that race. Matre was also the Indian Elite winner at the 2024 TCS World 10K Bengaluru, where he recorded a personal best of 29:32.

Matre will face competition from Dr. Kartik Karkera, the Indian Elite winner at the 2026 Tata Mumbai Marathon. Karkera also finished third among the Indian elite men at last year’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon.

Uttar Pradesh’s track athlete Prince Kumar will make his return to the half marathon circuit after 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 2025 South Asian Athletics Championships.

Asian Games 2023 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist Priti Lamba will also strengthen the Indian elite field. Having previously finished on the Indian Elite podium in Delhi, Lamba will return to the race with another opportunity to challenge for a top-three finish.

In the women’s elite field, former Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon Indian Elite champions Lili Das and Kavita Yadav will spearhead the Indian challenge. Das won the Indian Elite women’s title in 2024, while Yadav emerged victorious in 2023.

Both will be aiming for another podium finish, but they will face a strong challenge from Olympic and World Championship steeplechase athlete Ankita Dhyani. Dhyani made her half marathon debut in 2025 and finished fifth among the Indian elite women.

Indian distance runners to benefit from new PRIDE initiative

The 2026 edition will also introduce a new rewards and incentive framework, PRIDE — Procam Rewards for Indian Distance Elites. The performance-based initiative has been designed to recognise, incentivise and empower Indian elite distance runners competing in Procam International’s major events.

Under PRIDE, leading Indian distance runners will receive transparent, performance-driven benefits based on verified results. The programme applies to verified Indian elite distance athletes participating in Procam International events, including the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Tata Mumbai Marathon, TCS World 10K Bengaluru and Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata.

Prize money and incentives for Indian Elite records

The top three finishers in both the Indian Elite men’s and women’s categories at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon will receive prize money of Rs 3.5 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh respectively. An additional incentive of Rs 1 lakh will be awarded to any athlete who sets a new Indian Elite event record at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon.

The current Indian Elite event record in the men’s category stands at 60:30, set by Avinash Sable in 2020. The women’s record is held by L. Suriya, who clocked 70:31 in 2017.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar