Sports
Koju gunning for record fifth title
Kanchi Maya Koju of Nepal Armed Police (APF) Club will be looking to better her own title record as Kantipur-Runner Half Marathon is set for a tough field on Saturday.Kanchi Maya Koju of Nepal Armed Police (APF) Club will be looking to better her own title record as Kantipur-Runner Half Marathon is set for a tough field on Saturday.
Koju is the only runner to have won the 21km race more than three times and when the race begins from Kantipur Publications on Saturday, she will be looking forward to win her fifth title. “I have prepared well for this event and will be focused on winning the title again,” said Koju on the eve of the race.
But to better her own record, Koju will have to see off the challenges from former winners Reshu Basnet of Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC), her own clubmate Bindra Shrestha and top notch runners from other departmental teams.
With defending champion Hari Kumar Rimal of TAC yet to confirm his participation due to muscle tear, the male category will be left wide open. Other Army runners Gajendra Rai, Lal Bahadur Thapa, Kalyan Baniya and Tika Raj Katwal will also be itching to win the title.
The half marathon will see the participation of 772 runners—629 in male and 143 in female category. The winners in both the events will ride a Runner Kite Plus scooter each apart from receiving a cash purse of Rs 50,000. Athletes finishing second to six will get Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 5000, and Rs 3000 each.
The event will also included five km corporate-media and wheelchair races. The champions in wheelchair races—both male and female—will Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 each. Winners of the corporate-media race will get a return ticket to Hong Kong, the runners-up will get return ticket to Pokhara along with two-night stay package for a couple. The third placed runners will get mountain flight tickets.
The race for half marathon begins from Kantipur premises in Thapathali en route to Maitighar, Babar Mahal, Bijuli Bazaar, New Baneshwor, Tinkune, Koteshwor, Jadibuti, Gatthaghar, Sano Thimi, Sallaghari before returning to the starting point through same route.
Kantipur Publications has been annually organising the event to mark its anniversary for the last seven years. But from this year, the race will be taken as a separate event. Kantipur is looking forward to make the half marathon an international event.