Raj Kumar defends title

Dec-25th-2011
KATHMANDU: Raj Kumar Nepali, a 20-year old biker from Pokhara, defended the title winning the second Chain Mountain Bike Downhill Championship here at the Hattiban Resort today.

Raj Kumar completed the 1.9km course in 2:37.24 seconds leaving Parmeshwor Pokharel (2:38.04) and national champion Suraj Pandey (3:45.04) behind. It was the fifth downhill title for Raj Kumar. Of the five titles he won in his 13-year career, four came at the same venue. He had claimed a title in his home city earlier this year.

Raj Kumar was more than happy to have defended the title. “I am delighted to win the title with an improved timing,” said Raj Kumar, a 12th grader at Mahendra Higher Secondary School in Pokhara. Raj Kumar had clocked 3:10 seconds to win the trophy in the last edition in 2009.

He credited his success to his mentor and senior biker Santosh Rai. “He (Santosh) is the unsung hero in my success, I am getting every support from him, I would not have achieved this success in the absence of Santosh” said the excited biker, who was disqualified in the 14th Asian Mountain Bike Championship here in 2008.

National champion Suraj, who was competing for the first time since fracturing his right hand during the Commencal Series in February, said he was satisfied with the results. “I had planned to finish the race in top five and I am more than happy to claim the the third place in this tournament,” said Suraj. “The third position finish has boosted my morale to do better in the upcoming events,” said Suraj, the oldest participant at 35. He had finished sixth in the last edition in 2009.

In all, 26 bikers including a foreign invitee in Brazilian David Silva participated

in the tournament organised by the Lalitpur District Cycling Association, under the auspices of Annapurna Post.

The event was managed by Chain Inc. Of the total 26 players, Binod Nagarkoti and Sumit Rai failed to finish the race, while Norwegian Lasse Storhoit did not turn up. The organisers had selected 27 bikers out of the 50 entrants. The top three finishers received race related equipment worth Rs 22,000, Rs 6,000 and Rs 2,500 respectively.

Biking for a cause

KATHMANDU: The second Chain Mountain Bike Downhill Championship on Saturday witnessed a different scenario with the participations of Pokharel siblings — Purushottam, Maheshwor and Parmeshwor. Among the three, the eldest brother Purushottam — who had his kidney transplanted in 2001 — took part in the race with an objective of spreading a message to the society. “I participated in the race to change the mentality of the people who think they cannot do physical works after the transplantation,” said the 31-year-old Purushottam. “People hesitate to do physical works after the transplantation. And I want to tell them that’s wrong. I proved that a kidney-transplant person is equally capable and can compete in the society,” added Purushottam, who along with his brothers started training in April. The nine-month training was enough for them to qualify. Out of the 27 bikers, Purushottam finished sixth, while the youngest of the lot Parmeshwor came second and Maheshwor ended up 16th.

Himalayan.