Nepalgunj, November 21

Durga Bahadur Budha of Jumla edged past Tribhuvan Army Club athlete Khadak Bahadur Khadka to win the third Nepalgunj Marathon here today.

In a competitive finish, Budha clocked two hours, 26 minutes and 58 seconds to beat Khadka by just 22 seconds. Khadka took two hours, 27 minutes and 20 seconds to finish second, while Nepal APF Club’s Ganesh Singh Thakuri was third in two hours, 28 minutes and 35 seconds.

In women’s half marathon, TAC athlete Reshu Basnet clocked one hour, 24 minutes and 45 seconds to win the gold medal, while her teammate Chandra Rawat finished second with the timing of one hour, 28 minutes and six seconds.

APF’s Krishnashwori Sintkala came third with the timing of one hour, 30 minutes and seven seconds.

In the 5km race, Jumla’s Naresh Budha and Ram Maya Budha won gold medals. Naresh took 16 minutes and 55 seconds to win the boys’ section race. Jumla’s Bibek Kathayet (17.42) and Banke’s Arbinda Chhetri (18 minutes) bagged silver and bronze medals respectively.

In girls’ section, Ram Maya clocked 19 minutes and 42 seconds to finish first ahead of fellow Jumla athlete Amrita Bhandari (20.33) and Salyan’s Chandra Kumari Gharti (21.50). In wheelchair category, Kamal Budha, Nanku Tharu and Deepak Darai bagged top three positions respectively.

Top three athletes in marathon received Rs 55,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000, while athletes finishing from fourth to eight got Rs 10,000, Rs 8,000, Rs 7,000, Rs 6,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

Similarly, top three players in half marathon took home Rs 30,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively, while the winners in 5km and wheelchair events received

Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively.

More than 600 athletes took part in the event organised by Creative Hands. National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista and Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan City Mayor Dhawal Shumsher Rana among others handed over the prizes to the winners. The organisers also honoured Olympian Raghuraj Onta on the occasion.