New Delhi, Feb. 22 -- Mumbai's Kartik Karkera scorched the route all along the 11th edition of the Cognizant New Delhi Marathon to annex the prestigious crown here on Sunday morning.

Completing the 42.2 kilometres as the world slept in a remarkable time of two hours and thirteen minutes (02:13:10), Karkera comfortably surpassed the qualifying mark for the Asian Games in Japan later this year, according to a release.

A doctor by profession, the 28-year-old had to stave off a concerted bid by Gopi Thonakal (02:13:12) and Man Singh (02:13:15) to eventually take the top position on the podium.

The fierce competition between the trio saw them cross the finish line within a few breaths of each other, well under the 2:15:04 required for men t...