Kathmandu, June 3

Record holder Bipana Pariyar was announced the best player of the eighth National President Running Shield here at the Dashrath Stadium on Friday.

Pariyar, who won four gold medals in the tournament, had broken the records in triple jump and long jump, while she won gold medals in the 4x400m and 4x100m relay on the last day of the tournament.

Joint Secretary of Youth and Sports Ministry Chuda Mani Poudel later announced to honour Pariyar with the Youth Talent Player Award. The award will be presented in July along with a cheque of Rs 100,000.

Central Region lifted the team championship with 319 points, while Western finished second with 219 and Mid-western came third with 118 points. The top three finishers received Rs 25,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively.

On the last day of the athletics tournament, Ajit Kumar Yadav of Central won gold in 1500m with the timing of four minutes and 14.5 seconds, while in girl’s section, Manju Rawat completed the race in five minutes and 10.4 seconds to win the gold.

In girls’ football, Central edged past Western 1-0 in final. Rajani Thokar scored the solitary goal of the match. In boys’ football, Western beat Central 1-0 riding on a goal from Mandip Baniya.

In boys’ volleyball, Western defeated Central 25-17, 25-12, 25-22 for the gold medal, while Mid-western registered a hard-fought 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 win over Far-western in the third-place playoff. In girls’ category, Central defeated Western 25-14, 25-17, 25-17 for the gold, while Mid-western edged past Far-western 19-25, 25-9, 25-10, 25-14 to finish third.

Far-western won boys’ kabaddi gold with a 48-41 victory over Central, while Western claimed bronze defeating Eastern 53-22. In girls’ section, Central won gold defeating Far-western 50-34, while Eastern thrashed Mid-western 61-27 for the bronze medal.

In boys’ cricket, Central claimed gold with a 34-run victory over Mid-western. Batting first, Central scored 157-6 in 20 overs and packed Mid-western for 123 runs in 19.4 overs.

Minister for Youth and Sports Satya Narayan Mandal, Vice President of National Sports Council Lama Tendi Sherpa, NSC Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista, President of Nepal Olympic Committee Jeevan Ram Shrestha among others handed over the prizes to the winners.

A total of 727 players from five development regions competed in eight different sports disciplines.