The Indians dominated most of the top spot in the South Asian Cross Country Championship (SACCC) 2018, held at the Royal Thimphu Golf Course, today. The host country, Bhutan also managed to win the bronze medal in the men’s team category.
From the beginning of the race, the Indian cross country runners proved to be the dominant team. In the men’s individual category, Pradeep Singh Chaudhary came first by completing the race in just 34 minutes.
The jubilant winner said: “I am feeling very happy as I could not perform well during the Asian Cross Country Championship due to some reasons. I felt very bad during that time. However, after winning this championship today I am feeling like I am on the top of the world.”
The story was no different in the women’s individual category as well. Jhadhav Sanjivani Baburao from India booked the gold medal. She finished the 8km race in just 36 minutes and 20 seconds.
“Back home, we do our trainings at a lower altitude place. But after coming here, the difference in altitude has hampered my performances. However, I am extremely delighted that I won my first gold medal. This is my eleventh international event.”
Meanwhile, for Bhutanese men’s team, the two-month long training did not go in vain as they managed to win the bronze medal in the men’s team category.
“We have only been trained for two months whereas some participants from other countries have been undergoing coaching for more than 8 years. I am extremely happy that I competed with them and we won the bronze medal for the country,” told Sangay Wangchuk from team Bhutan to BBS News.
Despite failing to book a top spot in the women’s category, the Bhutanese women athletes all completed the cross country running courses. Chimi Dema, 22, was the first women to complete the race amongst the four female athletes.
“It was a good experience for us, for all the Bhutanese runners to participate with all the competitive runners from other countries. I would love to run with the international runners in the near future,” Chimi added.
The championship saw only four teams in women’s category since there was no participation of female athletes from Bangladesh and the Maldives.
In the men’s team category, India took away the gold medal followed by Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Team Sri Lanka came first in the women’s team category, India second and Nepal in the third place.
The Bhutan Amateur Athletic Federation organised the day-long international event for the very first time in Bhutan. Six South Asian countries participated in the event and they are: Bhutan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
