Nov 08, Kathmandu - Pradeep Bhandari and Sumana Sapkota have won first place in the men's and women's races respectively in a running competition organized by Nepal Oil Corporation among employees, media personnel, and the private sector with the aim of spreading health awareness through running.

Bhandari won the men's 10-kilometer race in a competition held at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwor on Saturday (Kartik 22). Digambar Panta came second and Manoj Kumar Das came third. Pant finished in 54 minutes 46 seconds and Das in 56 minutes.

Sapkota, who came first in the women's 5-kilometer race, covered the distance in 32 minutes and 9 seconds. Sharmila Katuwal came second and Rajkumari Rai came third. Katuwal covered the distance in 33 minutes and 39 seconds. Rai took 35 minutes and 49 seconds to cover the prescribed distance.

The winning athletes were awarded medals by the Corporation's Executive Director Dr. Chandika Prasad Bhatta and international runner Baikuntha Manandhar.

Bhandari and Sapkota, who came first in the men's and women's groups in the competition, were awarded 50-gram silver coins.