Pokhara, October 3

Shirish Gurung of Tribhuvan Army Club defended the title of the sixth Open Swimming Championship here at the Fewa Lake today.

The 2016 Rio Olympic Games participant Gurung completed the 2.5km event in 26 minutes and 7.13 seconds to win the trophy along with cash prize of Rs 25,000. Gurung had won the title of the fifth edition of the championship held two years ago. Nepal APF Club’s Devesh Manandhar came second in 27:7.38, while TAC swimmer Rudra Katwal was third in 28:7.06. Manandhar received Rs 15,000, while Katwal got Rs 10,000.

Among the local participants, Dhanman Gurung came first in 33:5.88, while Ram Kumar Mithun (34:6.88) finished second and Arjun Nepali (36:23.41) was third. The top three swimmers received Rs 10,000, Rs 6,000 and Rs 4,000 respectively.

A total of 32 swimmers, including two foreigners and a woman athlete, took part in the championship organised by Kaski District Swimming Association under the auspices of Nepal Swimming Association.

Kaski District Swimming Association president Baibhav Paudel handed over Rs 5,000 to the lone woman participant of the event, Ruby Tamang of Kaski as an encouragement.

DIG Narendra Kumar Singh, National Sports Council Member Fatta Gurung, NSA President Ashok Bajracharya, Nepal Olympic Committee Member Tej Gurung, Kaski District Sports Development Committee President Yam Bahadur Gurung among others handed over the prizes to the winners of the championship.