Gorkha, October 7

Anish Thapa Magar of Parbat won the crown of the seventh Liglige Race, the historic event of the district which was organised to select new king during the 17th century.

Magar finished the race in 56 minutes and 18 seconds. He pocketed Rs 50,505 along with the crown. The race started from Chepeghat, the confluence of Marshyangdi and Chepe rivers and ended at Liglig Kot. Shuva Raj Gurung of Gorkha came second in 57:19 seconds, while Krishna Basnet of Tribhuvan Army Club was third in 58:26. Gurung received Rs 30,305, while Basnet earned Rs 20,205.

In the women’s section, Santoshi Shrestha of Dhading won the race in 40 minutes and 02 seconds and received Rs 15,500. Tribhuvan Army Club athletes Sanu Maya Karki (42:15) and Chandra Raut (42:57) were second and third respectively. Karki earned Rs 10,005, while Raut got Rs 5,005. Among the local participants, Rajan Nepali, Manish Rana and Sandes Shahi claimed the top three positions and earned Rs 15,000, Rs 10,005 and Rs 5,005 respectively. A total of 143 athletes took part in the event which is believed to have been held for the first time in 1604BS to select the king of Liglig Kot before the unification of Nepal by King Prithivi Narayan Shah.

It is believed that Dalsur Ghale Magar became the first king of Liglig Kot by winning the race for three consecutive times. The tradition of selecting the king through the race ended after Drabya Shah came into power. “The race might have started for a different purpose then but we restarted it seven years ago with the purpose of luring tourists in our place,” said the organising committee convenor Purna Bahadur Rana.