Pokhara, February 18

Nawaraj Saud led the Tribhuvan Army Club’s clean sweep in the Safal Pokhara Marathon here at the Pokhara Stadium today.

Saud clocked two hours, 34 minutes and 24 seconds to complete the 42.195km distance and won the maiden long distance title of his career. Lal Bahadur Thapa crossed the finishing line just 33 seconds behind Saud in 2:34:57, while Gyan Prasad Bhattarai claimed third position with the timing of 2:36:04. Top three athletes received Rs 60,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.

The marathon kicked off at the Pokhara Stadium and went through Lekhnath Municipality before concluding at the stadium. “This is first ever marathon title for me,” said Saud. “The marathon was highly competitive and I am happy for winning the title,” added Saud, who had finished runner-up in the first National Marathon Competition in Hetauda where he had taken two hours, 34 minutes and 12 seconds.

Janajyoti HS School’s Mahendra Rajbhandari won the boys’ 5km race for school children in 21 minutes and 19 seconds, while Chhorepatan HS School’s Gaurav Subedi (22:03) and Surya Academy’s Prajwal Rai (22:17) were second and third. In girls’ section, Lalita Lamichhane of Laxmi HS School claimed first position in 26 minutes and 28 seconds, while Ashmita Magar of Shree Shukra Raj Balbhadra HS School finished second in 27:52 and Shristi Chaudhary of Sahid Memorial School came third in 28:57. Top three athletes received Rs 7,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 3,000 respectively.

Suresh Gauli, Bharat Adhikari and Dhruba Neupane claimed top three positions in 800m wheel chair race, while Laxmi Sunar and Dhana Magar were the winner and runner-up in the women’s category. Winners, runners-up and third place finishers earned Rs 3,000, Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 respectively.

The event was organised by Ex-players Forum under the sponsorship of Sujal Dairy Pvt Ltd of Laxmi Group.