Sikkim bodybuilders strike gold in Darjeeling

…FLEX THEIR WAY TO TWO GOLDS, 2 SILVER AND 1 BRONZE MEDAL AT HIMALAYAN CLASSIC BODY BUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP

SAGAR CHHETRI
GANGTOK, 05 Jan: Sikkim bodybuilders flexed enough muscles to impress everyone at the 1st Himalayan Classic Body Building Championship held on 02 and 03 January at Gorkha Rang Manch, Darjeeling.
Out of 11 body builders from the state, 9 made it to the finals of the championship. Arun Gurung won the gold medal in the 55 kg category and also bagged the ‘Overall Best Poser’ of the Championship while former Mr Sikkim, Suresh Chettri also won gold in the 60 kg category.

Likewise, Norbu Tshering Bhutia and Ganesh Neopaney won silver medals in the 65 kg and 70 kg categories respectively and the current Mr Sikkim, Pema Dorjee Bhutia won bronze in the 70 kg category.
Other finalists from Sikkim in the contest were Tika Ram Pradhan who stood 4th in 55 kg, Ruben Mukhia on 6th position in 60 kg, Tulshi Pradhan on 4th position in 65 kg and Sandeep Lakhandri on 6th position in 65 kg.
The championship was organized by Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival Committee in collaboration with Gorkhaland Body Building & Fitness Association and was part of the Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival.
The 11-member Sikkim State Body Building Association [SSBBA] team was led by SSBBA chief coach, IB Gurung, who was part of the championship as a National Judge, and was accompanied by coach, Sunil Gurung and manager, Robin Pradhan.
Addressing a press conference today, SSBBA chief coach, Mr Gurung, informed that the state’s bodybuilders performed well in the championship and were highly appreciated by the audience.
He mentioned that lately, Sikkim has been dominating the field of bodybuilding in this region, which was earlier dominated by the neighboring hills.
“The main reason for the development of body building in the state is that youngsters are now coming forward in this field and a good number of gyms have now opened across the state,” said Mr Gurung. At present there are around 18 gyms across the state.
He informed that SSBBA has been focusing on preparing local bodybuilders for the national level contests and the association has also been planning to conduct the Mr India contest in the state.
SSBBA teams will be participating in the Federation Cup scheduled to be held in Nainital next month and Eastern India at Jharkhand in March.
However, Mr Gurung stated that if the association and local bodybuilders receive support and cooperation from all concerned sides then local bodybuilders can perform even better at the national level.
SSBBA vice-president, Arun Gurung also added that the SSBBA has been bearing all expenses while taking teams to different regional and national championships and at present the association is not financially sound. On the same, he urged the government and corporate houses to come forward to support local bodybuilders.