Pokhara, February 19

Nepal Police Club’s Bhumiraj Rai won the title of the 12th Safal Pokhara International Marathon here today.

Rai clocked two hours, 36 minutes and 42.2 seconds to complete the 42.195km distance. Tribhuvan Army Club’s Hari Kumar Rimal took two hours, 38 minutes and 46.1 seconds to finish second, while his teammate Lal BahadurThapa came third in two hours, 39 minutes and 32.4 seconds. Top three athletes received Rs 70,000, Rs 45,000 and Rs 35,000 respectively. Nepal APF Club’s Ganesh Thakuri finished fourth in two hours, 45 minutes and 45.2 seconds and he got Rs 5,000. A total of 113 runners competed in marathon.

Similarly, TAC dominated men’s 10km race with Ramji Banset, Kalyan Baniya and Milan Karki claiming top three positions respectively. In women’s category, APF’s Bindra Dhanke Shrestha, TAC’s Sarita Basi and APF’s Swostika Shrestha came first, second and third respectively. Top three athletes in both categories earned Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

In boys’ 5km race, Sagar Shrestha of Jaycees School, Manish Karki of Daffodil School and Shree Jana Sewa School’s Madan Oli bagged top three positions respectively. In girls’ event, Lalita Lamichhane of Laxmi Secondary School, Madhuri Devi Nakarmi of Sahid Smriti and Kriti Thapa of Shishu Kalyan claimed top three positions respectively. The top three athletes in both categories earned Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 4,000 respectively.

In 400m wheelchair race, Suresh Gauli, Bharat Adhikari and Bal Bahadur Rokka won top three positions in men’s event, while Laxmi Sunar, Anju Baral and Punam BK won gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in women’s section.

Similarly, Ashish Khadgi, Durga Dutta Paudel and Rajan Chandra finished as top three players in 100m race for visually impaired athletes in men’s section, while Maya Gautam, Bipan Khanal and Muna Aryal were top three athletes in women’s category. Top three position holders in wheelchair and visually impaired categories got Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively.

Around 3,000 runners competed in the event organised by Ex-Players Forum Nepal.