Nepal Athletes Chase 38-Year Marathon Record at Asian Games

A marathon record set in 1987 might finally fall this September when Nepal sends six determined athletes to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Khadak Bahadur Khadka, a Nepal Army runner competing in his first Asian Games, has his eyes locked on Baikuntha Manandhar's legendary time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 3 seconds. The record has survived nearly four decades of attempts, but Khadka has already slashed his personal best from 2:18 to just seconds away from the mark.

"If the weather, my health and everything else support me there, I believe I can break the record," said Khadka, who didn't even know running was a sport when he first joined the army as a soldier 11 years ago.

He's not the only one chasing history. Santoshi Shrestha, Nepal's "Golden Girl" after her 2019 South Asian Games triumph, will compete in both the 5,000m and 10,000m where she already holds national records. Mukesh Bahadur Pal is targeting record-breaking performances in the 1,500m and 5,000m at his first Asian Games.

The team of six—four men and two women—is currently training twice daily at Dasharath Stadium. For Som Bahadur Kumal, it will be his third Asian Games appearance. For Rajan Rokaya, Purnalakshmi Neupane, and others, it's a debut on the continental stage.

Nepal has competed in athletics at the Asian Games since the inaugural 1951 edition but has never won a medal at the event. That stands in sharp contrast to Nepal's success elsewhere: Jit Bahadur KC won bronze at the 1973 Asian Athletics Championships, while Ajit Kumar Yadav claimed gold at the 2019 Asian Youth Championships.

Why This Inspires

Shrestha sees beyond the podium. "There is a gap, but we are working hard and that gap has become much smaller," she said. "If we break records, we can create a path for the next generation."

The athletes aren't just chasing personal glory—they're building stepping stones for every young Nepali runner who dreams of going faster, higher, and further than before. Whether or not medals come home this fall, Nepal's athletics story is already being rewritten, one training session at a time.