Tata Steel Meramandali Half-Marathon: Nearly 4000 Participants Run To Protect Wildlife
Dhenkanal: Tata Steel, in collaboration with District Administration Dhenkanal and Odisha Athletic Association, organized the Tata Steel Meramandali Half-Marathon on Sunday, themed ‘Run to Protect Wildlife,’ outside the Kapilash Wildlife Sanctuary. The event was inaugurated by notable dignitaries including Sudhir Samal, Hon’ble MLA, Dhenkanal, Manoranjan Mallick, District Collector & Magistrate, Dhenkanal, Madkar Sandeep Sampat, Superintendent of Police, Dhenkanal, Sumit Kar, Divisional Forest Officer, Dhenkanal, Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President (VP), Corporate Services, Tata Steel, DB Sundara Ramam, VP, Raw Materials, Tata Steel, Subodh Pandey, VP, Operations-Tata Steel Meramandali, Graphene and New Material Business, Tata Steel, and Rajiv Kumar, VP, Operations, Tata Steel Kalinganagar.
Approximately 4,000 participants engaged in the Half-Marathon, with a large audience gathering to encourage and support their athletic endeavors. The run featured three categories: 21K and 10K for individuals aged 19 years and above, and 5K for youths aged 14 to 19 years. The total prize money amounted to Rupees Nine Lakh Sixty-Four Thousand (Rs 9,64,000/-), with Hemant Singh from Alwar, Rajasthan, emerging as the 21km men’s category winner and Shyamali Singh from West Medinapur, West Bengal, securing victory in the female category. Each winner in the 21 km run received the highest prize money of Rs. 1 Lakh.
To ensure adherence to international standards, the event incorporated advanced technology such as Timing Mats, RFID chips, split timing mats along the route, tracking cameras, and Wi-Fi networks, overseen by national-level agencies proficient in organizing similar runs across the nation.
The Tata Steel Meramandali Half-Marathon gained recognition from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), a Greece-based organization overseeing marathon and distance running events worldwide, marking a significant milestone for the event.
The successful organization of the run was made possible through collaboration with other industry entities including MGM Minerals, RimjhimIspat Ltd, AngulEnergy Limited, Tata Steel UISL, Tata Steel Technical Service Limited, and Tata Steel Support Service Limited from the region.
