Marathoner Gopi's Olympic quest hampered by pandemic, injury

NEW DELHI: Pandemic and injury were the reasons behind missing May 31 deadline to qualify for marathon event at Tokyo Olympic Games, said India's 2017 Asian marathon champion Thonakal Gopi.

"I had a knee injury in later part of 2019 while 2020 was disrupted by the pandemic. Since the deadline to achieve qualification is over, focus is to get fit for 2022 season now," Gopi told IANS from Bengaluru.

The deadline for achieving the Olympic qualification mark of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 30 seconds ended on May 31.

At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Gopi finished 25th with a personal best of 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds. The 33-year-old distance runner from the Army also had a brilliant run in the 2017 season, winning gold medal in the Asian Championship.

"Winning the Asian marathon title was a big boost to my confidence though the 2018 season didn't go on expected lines as I couldn't qualify for Jakarta Asian Games," he said. (IANS)

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