Rajendra Bhandri of Nepal Army won the title of the men´s category after three years while defending champion Krishneshwari Sintakala of APF finished first in the women´s category. [break]
Bhandari, winner of the third edition, completed Saturday´s marathon in 2 hours 33 minutes 16 seconds ahead of club-mates Uttam Khatri and Krishna Basnet. Khatri clocked 2 hours 34 minutes 32 seconds while Basnet took 2 hours 34 minutes 44 seconds.
Another army man Purna Tamang secured the fourth position while defending champion Arjun Dhakal of APF slumped to the fifth position. It was a forgettable day for Nepal Army´s Arjun Basnet, runner-up of the last edition, who pulled out of the marathon due to muscle cramp.
Bhandari, who won a gold medal at the 11th South Asian Games (SAG) held in Bangladesh last year, said, “My ultimate target is to defend the title during the 12th SAG.”
Likewise, other army athletes Shyam Parajuli, Ram Bhandari, Bed Bahadur Sunuwar, Chandra Mahato and Khim Bahadur Khatri claimed the sixth to tenth positions.
In the women´s section, Sintakala clocked 3 hours 20 minutes 24 seconds to complete the race ahead of her club-mate Sonu Jaya Rai and Saraswati Khadka Rai of Nepal Army.
Sintakala improved her timing by 10 minutes. In the last edition, Sintakala had clocked 3 hours 31 minutes 47 seconds to complete the marathon. Sonu Jaya took 3 hours 33 minutes 14 seconds while Saraswati clocked 3 hours 33 minutes 52 seconds.
Sintakala said that she was happy to improve her timing. “I had trained for a long time and I also knew the track, which helped me win the race with ease.”
Winners in both categories will receive Rs 100,000 while the runners-up and the third position holders will bag Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.
Similarly, in women´s half marathon, Brinda Dhanke Shrestha of APF completed her hat-trick. Shrestha clocked 1 hour 32 minutes 32.3 seconds to complete the race ahead of Bishow Rupa Budha from Jumla and Gita Khatri of APF. Budha completed the race in 1 hour 32 minutes 32.8 seconds while Khatri took 1 hour 35 minutes 43 seconds to finish the race.
“I was confident of defending my title and completing a hat-trick but Budha gave me a tough fight as we both had reserved our energy for the final lap.”
Hom Lal Shrestha of Army Club clocked 1 hour 12 minutes 53 seconds to complete the half marathon in men´s category ahead of club-mates Rajan Khatri and Raj Kumar Bista. Khatri had the timing of 1 hour 13 minutes 12 seconds while Bista took 1 hour 13 minutes 33 seconds to complete the race.
In men´s 5-km open, Kalyan Baniya, Kiran Malla and Gyan Prasad Bhattarai finished in the top three positions. In women´s 5-km open, Kanchi Maya Koju, Rupa Khadka and Sangita Khadka claimed the top three positions respectively.
In wheel chair (male), Krishna Raj Chaudhary clinched the top spot. Jhamka Nath Adhikari and Dinesh Khadka finished second and third respectively. In wheel chair (female), Jyoti Aryal, Sunita Dhakal and Sarita Koirala finished in the top three positions.
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