Kenyan plans to have fun at Cochin half marathon

The 28-year-old who finished fourth in the 42km Berlin Marathon in September sees the run in Cochin a warm-up for the big season ahead. “It is a good city, very good track. I will try to enjoy my run and am not looking to break any records... just enjoy as much as possible,” said Helah.

Meanwhile, another Kenyan, Emmanuel Mutai, who was runner-up in London earlier this year is prepared to give his best though he isn’t sure of the conditions in the port city. “If it is hot and humid, it will affect my race adversely. But if the conditions are favourable, I hope to have a good race,” said Mutai.

A total of 15 foreigners, including Estonian twins Leila and Lily Luik, have arrived for the run. There are 7,500 runners registered for the race, with 2,500 of them taking part in the whole run and the remaining enlisted for a 7km race.

Preeja Sreedharan is also taking part and among the other Indian runners is Dharam Pal Singh from Uttar Pradesh, whose passport and voter’s ID?show he is a 116-year-old. “I run to show the world that Indians are health conscious and if you run you can be healthy and live long like me,” said Singh.

Rahul Raj’s goal in the 26th minute and Ragesh’s strike in the second half helped Calicut register their second win.

Meanwhile, MG University drew with LNIPE Gwalior 1-1 in their first match and thrashed Shivaji University 4-1 in the second. Gireesh scored a brace and Eldhose and Albin contributed to MG’s win.

Pool B: West Bengal State University bt JNV University, 4-1; Delhi University bt SG University, 3-0; Calicut University bt West Bengal State University, 2-0, Delhi University bt JNV Univeristy, 2-0

Pool C: Punjab University bt Ranchi University, 5-0; Annamalai Unviersity bt Ranchi Unviersity, 4-0

Pool D: Shivaji University bt Kurushetra University, 1-0; MG University drew with LNIPE Gwalior , 1-1; Calcutta University drew with Kururshetra University, 2-2; MG University bt Shivaji University, 4-1.

Kozhikode: Kerala survived a late scare by Punjab to win 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 19-25, 15-8 and enter the semifinal of the 62nd Senior National Volleyball Championship being held at Moradabad on Friday.

After securing dominating wins in the first two games, Kerala was poised to storm into the semifinals with ease but Punjab showcased a heroic comeback to ensure they went down with a fight. Trailing 16-21, Punjab combined well to clinch the third game 25-23 and took the fourth too with a commendable score of 25-19.

Kerala players felt the pressure and the defending champions stuttered at the start of the decider as Punjab raced to 4-0. However, Kerala players were able to regroup and take the team to safety as they won the final game 15-8 to make it to the semifinal.

Though Sachin Mohan shone at the top, Kerala were reeling at 195 for 7 at one stage. But thanks to No.6 Akshay Chandran, Kerala regained momentum and ended the day on a respectable score. For Madhya Pradesh, Sanjay Mishra (3/65) and NR Sawke (2/48) did well.

Brief scores: Kerala 268 for seven in 90 overs (Sachin Mohan 69, Akshay Chandran 61 not out, Sanjay Mishra 3/65) vs Madhya Pradesh

Kochi: Kerala bagged three gold medals in 10th national mountain bike championship at Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Basappa M.T., Abhijith U.S. and Gopika Prathapan won gold for Kerala in various categories. Basappa finished first in the men’s 30km cross country while Abhijith and Gopika won the sub-junior 10km time trial in boys and girls categories respectively.