Ram Singh Yadav of the Services missed a golden chance to confirm his qualification at the Beijing Olympics as he missed the cut by three seconds at the Mumbai Marathon on Sunday.
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The 27-year-old from Varanasi finished first from the Indian contingent in the 42.195 km race, where Kenya's John Kelai defended his crown easily. Yadav clocked 2:18.23, three seconds short of the timing that could've given him an automatic qualification for this year's Olympics in the B-Standard.
The best timing by an Indian is still held by the late Shivnath Singh at 2:12, who represented India at the 1976 Montreal Games and four years later in Moscow.
Incidentally, that was the last time India was represented in the Marathon at Olympics.
Having missed out on his best chance, Yadav may have another shot at the Olympic berth during the Hong Kong Marathon on February 17 or in the London Marathon in April.
Though his participation is not confirmed, Services coach KS Matthews said they are trying to get an Indian entry for the London marathon.