KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 4

Nepali bodybuilders Bishal Paudel and Sanam Mulguthi won gold medals in the 55th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship here today.

Paudel won the gold in the men's junior above-75kg weight category finishing ahead of Kumar Anil from India. Balankan Pathansirawat from Thailand was in third place. Mulguthi won gold in women's swimsuit physique open category of the championship. She beat Hong Kong's Ma Xin Yi, while South Korea's Kim Soyun finished third.

Suresh Duwal won silver in men's 55kg section. He finished second behind Bui Dak Phi Vu of Vietnam. Azri Win Asmat Sefri of Malaysia got the bronze. Nepal claimed silver and bronze in the 60kg weight category. Ashmin Babu Garunge finished second behind Girafan Pongkam from Thailand, while Kamal Bhandari came third.

The first day saw the completion of 15 events including men's junior physique up to 75kg and above 75kg, men's 55kg, 60kg, 65kg, 70kg, U-21 women's junior fitness physique, women's fitness physique up to 165cm, above 165cm, 15-18years women teenage athlete physique, women's swimsuit open, U-21 women's junior model physique, men's masters physique 40-49years, 50-60years and above-60years.

A total of 236 athletes, including 168 men and 68 women, from 17 countries - Nepal, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Macau, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam - are competing in 45 categories of the championship organised by the Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation under the auspices of the Nepal Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation.

Earlier, various personalities were honored with gold, silver and bronze medals for their contribution to the development of the sport. Gyanendra Nakarmi, Ajay Bajracharya, Rujesh Shahi, Nanita Bajracharya, Nirmala Maharjan, Rajesh Upadhyay, Maheshwar Maharjan, Rajan Shrestha received gold medals. Similarly, Rajesh Bahadur Shrestha, Ishwar Shrestha, Shankarman Udash, Babukaji Manandhar, Pratapkaji Baria, Dinesh Shrestha, Anilal Shrestha got silver, while Suresh Subedi, Renuka Shrestha, Binita Rai, Surya Prasad Joshi and Bijayattam Ratna Bajracharya got bronze medals.