Kathmandu, June 1

Four athletics records were shattered on the first day of the eighth National President Running Shield here at the Dashrath Stadium today.

Ajit Kumar Yadhav of Central Region and Manju Rawat of Mid-western broke the records in 1500m race, while Tilak BK of Mid-western and Bipana Pariyar of Western set new marks in shot put and triple jump respectively.

In boys’ volleyball, Central Region advanced to the semi-finals with double victories. Central defeated Eastern 21-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-23 before beating Mid-western 25-21, 25-20, 25-20 in the second match. In another match, Western thumped Far-western 25-8, 25-16, 25-12 to make it to the semis. In girls’ section, Central advanced to the semi-finals with a 25-8, 25-16, 25-12 victory over Far-western, while Western edged past Eastern 25-14, 25-20, 25-14. In boy’s kabaddi, Central advanced to the second round with a victory over Eastern, while Far-western beat Mid-western in girls’ section.

In wushu, Aashish Rai of Central claimed gold in Chang Quan with 7.85 points, while Dilip Ghale of Central and Rabin Chaudhary of Far-western finished second and third respectively. In girls’ category, Sapana Moktan of Central finished first with 7.80 points, while Anu Rai of Central and Alisha Khati of Far-western finished second and third respectively. In boys’ Nan Quan, Ajay Tamang of Central claimed gold with 7.95 points, while Saroj Pun of Central and Ujjwol Rai of Eastern claimed silver and bronze respectively.

Earlier, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the three-day tournament. Information and Communications Minister Sher Dhan Rai, Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, General Secretary Lama Tendi Sherpa, Member Secretary of National Sports Council Keshab Kumar Bista were also present on the occasion. A total of 727 players from five development regions are competing in eight sports disciplines.