Sweat and shine at Darjeeling marathon

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Vivek Chhetri, TT, Jan 12, 2018, Darjeeling: Two Olympians from different countries who had participated in the 2004 Athens Olympics came together on Friday at the Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon organised by Darjeeling police in association with The Telegraph and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

Girls click selfies with Nepali film personalities Paul Shah and Anchal Sharma during the prize distribution ceremony of the marathon

Also present as special guest was Anju Bobby George, who had secured the fifth position at Athens and set an Indian record with a leap of 6.83 meters that still stands. The other attraction was Kanchi Maya Kajo from Nepal, who was at 19th position in the 1500 meters race at the Olympics.

At the Friday marathon, George handed over a trophy, shawl, citation, a cash reward of Rs 1.5 lakh to Kajo, the winner in the female category. "This is my first visit to Darjeeling and there is lot of potential here, lot of hidden talent. I found the girls from this region very talented and I am happy to see it," George said.

Like George, who holds an Indian record, Kajo boasts a national record in marathon in Nepal. "I used to concentrate on 800 meters and 1500 meters but for the past eight years, I have switched to marathon," said the 35-year old runner from Kathmandu.

The two Olympians' presence was an indication of the Darjeeling marathon - one of the biggest sporting events in this region - having grown in stature in the past five years. Both Kojo and Anish Thapa Magar, the winner in the male category, were also winners of this event last year. "I had also won this marathon in 2015," said Magar, an army man from Shillong. "More than 3,000 took part, many were international runners," said Akhilesh Chaturvedi, SP, Darjeeling. The run also drew participants from Ethopia, Nigeria, New Zealand, England and Kenya.

Andrew Breadley, a New Zealander, who was at the starting point of the 21km run at Sukhiapokhri, said: "I heard this is a wonderful marathon and this is the first time I am running in India."

The marathon, however, is not an easy one if Monika Chowdhury, the first runners-up in the women category who had come from Lucknow, was to believed. "The run was good but the last uphill stretch was difficult and I lost a lot of minutes," said Chowdhury, who represents the railways.

The prize was Rs 1.5 lakh for the winners, Rs 75,000 for the first runners-up and Rs 50,000 for the second runners-up for males and females.

The run had dollops of glitz, fun and music - Paul Shah and Achal Sharma, two well-known actors from Nepal, added the glamour quotient. Paragliders showered flowers from the air. The police felicitated 15 hill sporting personalities.