NAIROBI, Dec.14 (Xinhua) -- There will be no romance as Africa 10,000m silver medalist Leonard Barsoton and Stanley Kebenei fight for honors at the Kolkata 25km road race in India on Sunday.
Barsoton, who will be running for Kenya, will face a stiff challenge from Kebenei, who has since traded his Kenyan passport for American.
"My preparation is good. Last year I did not race because of a career-threatening injury. I had Achilles heel, but I have recovered well," said Barsoton on Friday.
With the Olympics coming in 2020 in Tokyo, Barsoton feels it is important to build on his endurance and stamina and the race in Kolkata will provide the perfect ground to gauge his preparedness before venturing into the World Athletics cross country series.
"I am, planning to do cross country in the future. But now I am focused on running a marathon. I am optimistic about running a full marathon in the future. The longest distance I have done is 30 kilometers. So I fancy my chances in Kolkata," he added.
Ethiopia's Tariku Bekele will be the other athlete to watch out for.
"I am feeling very good at the moment. Last year, I had a lot of hamstring and calf problems and I didn't race for more than a year until I ran the Seoul Marathon last month (where he finished sixth in 2:11:30)," said Bekele whose older brother Kenenisa holds the event record at 1:13:48.
"My brother (Kenenisa Bekele) is my hero. Changing my career to the marathon, things seem different, but I am still trying my best. Kenenisa trains me, we are there for each other. I want to run very fast and training hard for that."
But for Kebenei, Kolkata 25km race will offer another platform to prove his critics wrong.
"It is nice to visit Kolkata. I always wanted to visit India. 25km is new territory, but I don't restrict myself. I believe with good preparation I can pull it off. I will try my best to give a good competition," said the Kenya-American.
In the women's race, the leading entrants include Ethiopia's Birke Debele and last year's third-placed Failuna Matanga from Tanzania.
Debele, says despite running three marathons in 2019, she still feels strong to win in India.
"I am eager to run in Kolkata. I have already run three marathons this year but not at all tired and will try to give my best on Sunday. I would like to improve my performance in half marathon and in the future would want to run more in that category. I like long-distance training while preparing," she said.
Failuna Matanga, from Tanzania said his training has been free of injury.
"I have been training well and ready to run. I am focused on doing well in this marathon. I have done a lot of preparation for Kolkata. I want to impress with my performance on Sunday and break my current best timing," said Matanga in Nairobi.
