Gopi triumphs at Nepalgunj marathon

Gopi – who won the 13th South Asian Games gold medal in the 5,000m race – completed the 42.195km distance in two hours, 21 minutes and 39 seconds for his second title in Nepalgunj. Defending champion Khadag Bahadur Khadka of Tribhuvan Army Club came second in 2:22:09, while the 13th SAG’s marathon gold medallist Kiran Bogati finished third in 2:25:44.

Gopi won the sixth edition title in his first appearance in 2019 with his personal best timing of 2:18:59. Gopi said the Nepalgunj Marathon was the best of the events of the country, in terms of route, which is certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS). “It has already become a brand and athletes also get a lot of opportunities after taking part in the event," said Parki, indicating the organisers’ announcement of sending the best athletes to the London Marathon.
Along with the title, Parki received Rs 200,000, while Khadka and Bogati earned Rs 100,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively. Sontosh Bikram Bista, Mohan Dev GC, Prem Basnet, Sher Bahadur Budha, Ajay BK and Rudra Budhathoki finished from fourth to ninth and they also received cash prizes.

In the women’s half marathon, the 13th SAG 10,000m race gold medal winner, Santoshi from Dhading completed the hat-trick with third consecutive title. Santoshi completed the race in one hour and 20 minutes and 52 seconds. Fulmati Rana came second in 1:21:09, while the sixth edition winner Pushpa Bhandari was third in 1:23:35.

Santoshi, who also won the seventh and eighth edition titles, lauded the organisers, Creative Hands, for the route. “The best part of the event is the route and the organisers have also managed the traffic very well unlike in other marathon events,” she said. Top three athletes in the women’s half marathon received Rs 75,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively. Bindra Dhanke Shrestha, Rajya Laxmi Rawal and Ganana Bhandari finished fourth to sixth respectively and they also received cash prizes.

Karnali Province athletes Durga Budha and Ram Maya Budha won the 10km open races. Durga won the men’s section event in 31:15.36, finishing ahead of Narendra Singh Raut and Dharma Maharjan. Ram Maya came first in the women’s section with the timing of 37:49.77, while Asha Rawat and Mansara Budha came second and third respectively. Top three athletes in both sections earned Rs 30,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.

Dipendra Bohara and Kalpana Budha won the 5km races for students of Banke. Yagya Bahadur Khatri, Rohit Kumar Tamoli and Shumsher Ali Behena won top three spots in the men’s wheelchair race, while Deu Kumari Tharu and Shyam Kali Tharu were first and second in the women’s section. Yogesh Malla won the 5km corporate run.
The annual event was organised by Creative Hands to mark the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government and the then Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on November 21, 2006 ending the decade-long insurgency.

Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan City Mayor Prashant Bista, Kohalpur Municipality Mayor Purna Acharya, Lumbini Province Sports Council Member Secretary Jay Prakash Bhattarai, KL Dugar CEO Pradeep Chhajed and Director Sourav Dugar, and Creative Hands Founder President TS Thakuri among others handed over the prizes to the winners.