SAG Marathon ends seven kms short of official distance

Dhaka: The men`s full marathon event on the concluding day of the 11th South Asian Games turned into a

farce as the official distance of 42.195km was not adhered for the meet. The medal ceremony was held with gold to Nepal`s Rajendra Bahadur Bhandari, silver to Sri Lanka`s Ajith Bandara Adikari and bronze to India`s Ram Singh. But soon after the bizzare, sub-two hour timings were withheld with Sri Lanka lodging an official complaint. "The full marathon which should have been actually 42.195kms was shorter by seven kilometres. Having seen the record sub two-hour timing we lodged a protest paying USD 100," said a Sri Lankan technical official. Five runners in total competed in the men`s full marathon which was flagged off early in the morning today. But the jury is yet to give a final verdict, even as the medals have been given to the top three finishers. When asked about this, the secretary general of Bangladesh Olympic Association, Kutubuddin Ahmed found himself in a difficult position to explain as he only said: "We are looking into the complaint. We will come back with answers soon." PTI