Kathmandu, March 6
The 16th edition of the Asian Cross Country Championship is slated for Tuesday at the Gokarna Forest Resort.
A total of 65 athletes from 11 nations - Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Pakistan and Thailand - are participating the championship, organised by Nepal Athletics Association under the auspices of Asian Athletics Association.
According to the NAA, the Championship features four events - individual and team events of men's 10km, women's 10km, U-20 women's 6km and U-20 men's 8km races.
Out of the 19 athletes from Nepal, four players are taking part in women's 10km, while five each athletes are competing in other categories.
AAA President Dahlan Al Hamad praised the course of the championship. "We are very pleased with the venue as the race course is a natural one, exactly what we needed for such championships," said Al Hamad. "We have found a prominent course for future international competitions."
NAA President Rajeev Bikram Shah said the number of participants was low compared to our expectations.
"Due to various reasons, we could bring athletes from 10 nations. As cross country is regarded as one of the toughest races, most of the countries hesitate to take part. The number is not encouraging one but it is not also not very low," he said. Shah also thanked the AAA for providing Nepal with the opportunity to host the championship after a gap of 22 years.
The Championship is supported by National Sports Council, Bagmati Province Sports Development Council, Sudurpashchim Province Sports Development Council, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Kageshwori Manahara Municipality, Gokarneshwor Munucipality, and Nepal Television.
Also, Grande International Hospital, National Life Insurance, NLG Insurance, Dabur Nepal, MAW Life Jeep, Nepal Telecom, Kelme, Hamro Khelkud, Classy Printer, Gold Star, Gets Travels and Gokarna Forest Resort have joined hands with the organisers.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 7, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
