Doctor debuts in Asia: Kartik Karkera’s unusual journey to the Asian Games

“What’s the point of hitting your personal best if you don’t end up on the podium?”

Kartik Karkera reflected in his room at the SAI Hostel in New Delhi, just a day before flying to Japan for his first Asian Games. The 29-year-old is not a typical athlete who grew up and dedicated his life to sports. Karkera, an orthopedic surgeon by profession, only recently switched to marathon running full-time.

In just two years of running the format professionally, he now holds the third fastest time in Indian history with his personal best of 2:13:10.

“I can definitely improve my times. And if I am able to do that, I should fight for a podium at the Asian Games,” said Karkera.

Confidence is understandable. Karkera and compatriot Sawan Barwal have been so dominant this season that they have taken two spots in India’s men’s marathon squad for the upcoming Games, leaving Olympian T Gopi and former Asian champion Mana Singh out of the squad. Kartik Karker celebrates after completing the Mumbai Marathon. (PTI photo)

WHO IS KARTIK KARKERA?

Born and brought up in a middle-class family in Mumbai, Kartik Karkera loved athletics as a child. He was pretty good too.

But when he was 15 years old, he was asked to make a simple choice that many children from middle-income families are given: higher studies or sports?

Karkera knew what answer was expected of him. So he chose his studies and finally landed in Russia in 2016, where he pursued MBBS. He spent the next eight years there and became a doctor.

He would also unexpectedly rediscover his love for running.

For most of his time in Russia, running remained his hobby. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic. His university closed, classes moved online, and Karkera suddenly had something he rarely had before: time.

He lived near his university’s 400-meter track and began jogging almost every day, sometimes covering 20 or 25 kilometers by himself.

That year changed his perspective on running. Kartik Karkera has been named in India’s Asian Games squad. (PTI photo)

He won the Russian university 1500m title in 2021 and 2022, partnered with Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovsky, and finished sixth in the 2023 Moscow Half Marathon.

But when Karkera returned to India after eight years in Russia, he was still an unknown commodity in Indian athletics.

He worked as a resident at a hospital in Nashik, balancing long shifts with marathon training and sacrificing sleep to fit in the miles. Then came the breakthrough in 2026.

He was the top Indian runner in the Tata Mumbai Marathon, finishing in 2:19:55 before winning the Delhi Marathon in a sensational 2:13:10. Beating Olympian T Gopi and former Asian champion Man Singh, he found himself at the top of the Indian marathon almost overnight.

“People call me an overnight success. They don’t see the 10 years of hard work,” Karkera said.

Now the doctor, who once had to choose between studies and sports, is preparing for the biggest race of his career.

TRAINING IN KENYA BEFORE THE ASIAN GAMES

Once Karkera was identified as a marathon prospect, support followed. The Reliance Foundation athlete, who is also signed to Adidas, was flown to Kenya to train alongside elite runners capable of breaking 2 hours and 6 minutes, a level no Indian marathon runner has achieved.

Karkera believes his 1500m background has already given him speed. What he needed was the ability to maintain that speed over 42.195 kilometers. That was what he decided to build in Kenya.

However, his stay there was shortened by 15 days. The Athletics Federation of India wanted the marathoner to prove his mettle in India, so he was called up for the Continental Tour Silver meet in August.

Karkera returned from Kenya and made himself available in Bhubaneswar. He ran the 5K in 15:07.49, nearly a minute off his usual pace, but enough to make AFI believe the newcomer to the national ecosystem is ready for his first Asian Games. Kartik Karkera in Delhi Half Marathon 2025. (PTI Photo)

STINT IN SAI BENGALURU

He didn’t even mind leaving Kenya two weeks early. A relatively slow 5K didn’t help either. Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar’s advice was a big reason.

“When I came from Kenya, I thought it would be difficult to continue training at the same level. I thought of going to Ooty for training, but then Murali Sreeshankar advised me that I should go to SAI Bengaluru,” said Kartik.

“I am really happy that I went there. The athletes are well taken care of, my training is going well. I am able to cover my kilometers and they even acclimatize us with Japanese food,” laughed Karkera.

MARATHON DOCTOR AT THE ASIAN GAMES

Karkera laughed as he recalled how his father, who once asked him to choose between studies and sports, is now overjoyed to see his son represent India at the Games. He will fly to Japan to see Karkera make his debut for the country.

On September 26, Karkera will face the biggest race of her career in Nagoya when she will run her first Asian Games marathon for India. He knows the 42,195km will require more than the speed that first made him believe he could be an athlete, or the endurance he went to Kenya to build.

But Karkera spent years making sense of the distance between where he should have been and where he wanted to be. At 15, he chose a safer path and went to Russia to become a doctor. Years later, running brought him back to the starting line.

The challenge in Nagoya will be significant. Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita and Yuya Yoshida are both 2:06 runners, significantly faster than Karkera on paper. But neither had run those times in Nagoya, where the heat and humidity could make the race a completely different proposition.

Kartik Karkera will take on them in the night hours of September 26 for Indian audiences. If he can handle the conditions and keep his nerve, Marathon Doctor won’t be in Japan just chasing another personal best. He will fight for the podium.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

14 Sep 2026 14:51 IST