Nepalgunj | Khadka Bahadur Khadka of the Nepal Army has won the title of the 11th Nepalgunj Marathon. Defending his previous title, Khadka completed the 42 km full marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 8 seconds. His teammate Sushil Kumar Shahi secured second place with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 48 seconds, while Gopi Chandra Parki finished third, completing the distance in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 19 seconds.

As the champion of the men’s marathon, Khadka received a cash prize of Rs. 200,000. Shahi, the runner-up, earned Rs. 100,000, while Parki received Rs. 50,000 for securing third place.

Women’s Half Marathon

In the women’s half marathon category, Purnarajyalaxmi Neupane of the Nepal Army clinched first place, completing the 21 km distance in 1 hour, 21 minutes and 27 seconds. APF athlete Phulmati Rana finished second with a time of 1 hour, 27 minutes and 22 seconds.

Similarly, Sandhya Budha of Karnali Province secured third position, completing the race in 1 hour, 27 minutes and 39 seconds. Neupane received a cash prize of Rs. 75,000 as the category winner.

The marathon’s opening and closing ceremonies were attended by Prashant Bista, Mayor of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, Tanka Ghising, Member Secretary of the National Sports Council, legendary Nepali actor Rajesh Hamal, Miss Nepal Luna Luitel, Nepalgunj Marathon founder T.S. Thakuri and KL Dugar Group CEO Pradip Chachhed, among others.

Trophies and cash prizes were distributed to the winners of the marathon, half marathon, and other categories.
Race Director Chandra Bahadur Gurung informed that the top ten finishers as well as all participants who completed the race received a cash prize of Rs. 5,000 each.