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).
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.
![]() |
Nepali film personalities Paul Shah and Anchal Sharma in Darjeeling |
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.
The Telegraph
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?