Sweat and shine at Darjeeling marathon

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