Kathmandu. China has won the title of the second edition of the Nepal-China Friendly International Dragon Boat Race Festival, 2024.
China’s Dongguan Laoyu Club won the double title in the 200 and 500 meter race finals held at Fewa Lake in Pokhara on Monday. Dongguan received a prize of $10,000 with the double title.
In the 200 meter race, Dongguan covered the stipulated distance in 47.720 seconds. In the same event, China’s Yunnan Minzu University came second, Liaoning University came third, and Yunnan Provincial Normal University came fourth.
Dongguan Laoyu Club, which won the title in the stipulated 500 meter race, completed the stipulated distance in 2.04.470 minutes. Liaocheng University came second in the same event. Wuhan University came third.
In the competition, the winners of the 500 and 200 meters races received trophies, medals and certificates, and cash prizes of 5,000 US dollars. The runners-up received 2,000 dollars and the third placers received 1,200 US dollars.
The participating teams were awarded 500 US dollars each.
The winning athletes were awarded by Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song, Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya and others.
20 teams participated in the competition, which was jointly organized by Gandaki Province, Pokhara Metropolitan City, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal and the Nepal Tourism Board. 11 teams from Nepal, 8 from China and 1 from Singapore participated in the competition.
The competition was organized with the aim of promoting tourism in Nepal by strengthening cultural and people-to-people relations between Nepal and China.
Pekhara metropolis has expressed the belief that the second edition of this competition has succeeded in raising the sports tourism of Pokhara to a higher level. Through this dragon boat race, the metropolis has also got an opportunity to further expand the scope of Pokhara’s multifaceted potential in the national and international arenas.