Becker graces Kolkata 25K run

Kolkata, December 18: G.Lakshmanan of Tamil Nadu and Monika Athare from Maharashtra won the men s and women s categories respectively as tennis great Boris Becker graced the 25K Kolkata marathon run here on Sunday.In the men s run, it was a close finish as Lakshmanan clocked 01:17:16, a course record, while second placed Srinu Bugatha fell two seconds short at 01:17:18.A.B. Balliappa was third at 01:17:24.In the women s section, Jyoti Gawte clocked 01:35:34, a minute and 19 seconds short from winner Monika Athare who finished at 01:34:15.Monika Raut was third at 01:35:37.Becker, a six-time Grand Slam champion and ex-coach of World No 2 Novak Djokovic, was the centre of attraction with many runners clicking selfies with the youngest Wimbledon winner.The 49-year-old German, donning an orange t-shirt and black track pants, happily obliged.Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly was also present. West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi flagged off the event.