The 10th edition of eastern India’s most renowned road race is set to be its largest to date.
More than 23,000 have registered for the Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata 2025, partnered by The Telegraph, slated for this Sunday, marking the highest number of participants the event has ever recorded.
The landmark 10th edition of Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata 2025 is set to witness over 23,000 runners from across the world celebrate the spirit of running. This overwhelming response, with registrations oversubscribed across all categories, marks yet another unforgettable chapter in the city of joy, organisers said. The registrations are closed now.
The race is widely credited with inspiring a running revolution in Calcutta and eastern India. Last year, around 20,000 people participated in the race. In contrast, in the inaugural edition in 2014, the organisers struggled to find enough participants.
The 10th edition will have some of the world’s best athletes take centre stage at the US$142,214 (₹1.19 crore approx) prize money race, with equal prize money for the men’s and women’s winners.
Procam International, the organisers, have announced a $25,000 bonus (₹22.7 lakh approx) for any athlete who shatters the world record of 1:11:08.
Uganda’s two-time Olympic champion and three-time World Champion Joshua Cheptegei and women’s defending champion Sutume Asefa Kebede will race to better world standings in this year’s TSW25K Kolkata, the first World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.
Cheptegei, 29, won three consecutive World titles in 10,000m and had four world records to his credit, including the 5K and 10K on roads. A winner of last year’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon and this year’s TCS World 10K at Bengaluru, the Ugandan, whose 5,000 and 10,000 World Records still stand, revealed his interest in making a debut at 25K in Kolkata. “India is one of my favourite destinations. I want to give my best in my maiden venture in Kolkata,” said Cheptegei.
The last ten years have reflected in the growing depth of elite participation each year, as well as the consistently fast timings and results. Just two years ago, Calcutta witnessed stand-alone world records in the 25K, set by Kenya’sDaniel Simiu Ebenyo (1:11:13) and Ethiopia’s Kebede (1:18:47), winners of the men’s and women’s races, respectively.
Gulveer Singh and Sanjeevani Jadhav, 10,000m and 5,000m national record holders and the defending men’s and women’s champions respectively, will headline a star-studded Indian Elite field for the 10th edition of the race.
Singh is India’s fastest long-distance runner in history and the first Indian to break the 13-minute barrier in the 5000m. The Indian Army star returns to Calcutta after setting a new Indian event record (1:14:10) last year. He has multiple national records in 3000m, 5000m, and 10,000m, and is fresh from double gold at the Asian Athletics Championships.
“I will look to better my timing this year. The competition is good. I will enjoy running with this packed team. Also, this race gives me a chance to brush shoulders with the international field,” Singh said.
The women’s field is equally electrifying, led by Sanjeevani Jadhav, the defending champion who has dominated Indian long-distance running for years. She has two Tata Steel World 25K titles (2022, 2024), multiple international victories, and podium finishes across Asia.
“I just love to race here. The climate is just what you want for running this distance. This also helps me prepare for the bigger distances,” she said.