Tsegaye and Dolma won Dharamshala Marathon Held Amid Kangra Valley Carnival 2025

Dharamshala (Arvind Sharma), December 25:

As part of the ongoing Kangra Valley Carnival 2025, the Dharamshala Marathon was successfully organized on Thursday. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri flagged off hundreds of runners from the SAI Stadium, marking one of the major sporting highlights of the carnival.

The marathon route started and concluded at the SAI Stadium, passing through Circuit House, Cheelgari, Kotwali Bazaar, Khaniyara, Rakkar and Dari, drawing enthusiastic participation and public support along the way.

In the open men’s full marathon category, Tsegaye clinched first place, followed by Manjeet Singh in second position, while Arjun Pradhan and Manoj Kumar Singh secured third and fourth places respectively. In the open women’s full marathon, Arpita Saini emerged victorious, with Firehiwot finishing second and Tenzin Dolma third.

In the 35–44 years men’s category, Akash Kumar secured first place, while Seema topped the women’s category. In the men’s category above 55 years, Charan Singh bagged first position, followed by Tara Chand and Captain Suresh Chand in second and third places respectively. Divya Vashistha secured first position in the women’s above-55 category.

Prizes were distributed to the winners by Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa at the closing ceremony. Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Dharamshala, Zafar Iqbal; Additional Deputy Commissioner Vinay Kumar; and Project Officer, DRDA, Bhanu Pratap Singh were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa said such events encourage youth to adopt a healthy lifestyle, promote sports culture and contribute towards building a drug-free society. He added that the Dharamshala Marathon has the potential to gain international recognition in the future, similar to how the Boston Marathon has brought global acclaim to Boston, thereby strengthening Dharamshala’s identity on the sports tourism map.

The Deputy Commissioner further informed that on the third day of the Kangra Valley Carnival, on Friday, December 26, a special Sufi and Glamour Evening will be organized from 5 pm onwards. Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister Prof. Chandra Kumar will be the chief guest. The evening will feature a fashion parade, Kullu Nati and Lahaul Nati performances, with renowned Punjabi Sufi singer Kanwar Grewal as the main attraction.