Gajendra Rai wins liglige race and becomes liglige king
Kathmandu: Gajendra Rai of the Nepali Army has won the title of the 11th league race held on Wednesday at Palungtar in Gorkha. By winning the title, he has become the 11th “Ligalige Raja or Liglige King”.
He covered the distance of 13.5 km from Chepeghat to Ligligkot in 56 minutes and 36 seconds. He is from Khotang and belongs to Tribhuvan Army Club.
Narendra Singh Rawat of Tribhuvan Army Club became second by crossing the prescribed distance in 56 minutes and 53 seconds.
Likewise, the previous winner Anis Thapa has become the third this time. He covered the prescribed distance in 58 minutes and 35 seconds. He is working for Indian Army.
Rai, the winner of the race title, will be announced by Chief Minister of Gandaki Province, Surendraraj Pandey as the king of the liglige, said Sanjiv Rana Magar, chairman of the organizing Lig lige development campaign.
Similarly, it is said that kingly crown, trophy, medal and certificate will also be given along with a cash prize of Rs 100000(one hundred thousand rupees). According to the organizers, Rawat, who came second in the race, will get Rs 50,000 and Thapa, the third winner will get Rs 25,000.
A total of 70 people had participated in the race, including 21 local runners. The race started from Chepeghat on the border of Gorkha and Lamjung and passed through Dhikidanda, Thantipokhari, Pani Tanki, Chapathok, Baddanda, Bohoragaon, Sabha Chautaro, Maibal, Darbepani, Bijidanda, Kholi Chautaro and reached Liligkot Kalika Temple.
Before the unification of Nepal, it was a tradition that the person who was the first to run to Liligkot among twenty-four and twenty states would become the king. Earlier, the race competition was started with the tradition of becoming a king, but now the competition is being organized to bring domestic and foreign tourists to Liligkot.
The race competition, which is believed to have started in 1604 BS, has been continued since 2067. After the then king Dravya Shah won the race and became the king of Liligkot, it is believed that the tradition of becoming a king by running in Liligkot ended.
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