Srinagar. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday led the valley’s first international athletic event ‘Kashmir Marathon’ by running 21 kilometers (half marathon) along with about 2000 athletes from different parts of the country and abroad. Omar Abdullah had flagged off the ‘Kashmir Marathon’ on Sunday morning and during this, Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty was also present with him.
The 54-year-old chief minister thanked the organizers and other stakeholders of the first-ever international marathon in Kashmir for organizing the ‘excellent’ event. The ‘Kashmir Marathon’ featured India’s top long distance runners, Asian gold medalists and some of the best runners from Europe and Africa.
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Omar Abdullah expressed hope that ‘Kashmir Marathon’ will be one of the top athletic events in the world in the coming years. The Chief Minister said, “I am grateful to the people of Srinagar for coming forward to encourage the runners. I am hopeful that Kashmir Marathon will become one of the top competitions in the world.”
He said, “I congratulate all the people who participated in this competition. I didn’t know if I would be able to run 21 kilometers, because the longest I had ever run before was 12 or 13 kilometers, but I think running with other athletes gave me the motivation to finish the race.”
The tourism department had organized the event, which aims to show the world that the situation in Kashmir has improved and promote it as a tourist-friendly destination. Tourism Department Director Raja Yacob stressed the importance of the marathon in sending a message of peace and inviting tourists from all over the world.
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Sunil Shetty appreciated the program and said that a large number of participants had come to the program. Shetty said, “This will be the marathon race in the world in which the maximum number of participants participated. Where else will you get the opportunity to run 42 kilometers in ‘heaven’.