The Nepal Weekly 
March 25, 2025Umesh Rai bags 17th Dharmashree title, wins cash prize of Rs. 1.2 million ll
Tara Khaiju from Bhaktapur secures first place in the women’s open bodybuilding competition
Umesh Rai of Gorkhali Fitness has won the 17th edition of the Dharmashree Physical Fitness Competition, defending his title. Rai won the overall title in the competition held on 22nd March at the Auditorium of Nepal Academy in Kamaladi, Kathmandu, beating Lalit Dhimal of Galaxy Fitness.
Upon winning the title, Rai bagged the largest prize money in Nepal in the individual category of Rs. 1.2 million and a trophy weighing 11 kilograms, along with medals, certificates, an opportunity to visit China, and other gifts.
Rai is also the winner of the 16th edition of body building championship. Rai has become the third player to win the title twice at Dharmashri. Earlier, Naresh Maharjan and Sanu Gurung had also won the title twice each.
He entered the overall round by winning first place in the above 80 kg weight category at the Dharmashree competition organized by Nepal Byayam Mandir, the mother institution of the exercise sector in Nepal. Similarly, Lalit Dhimal, who came in second, also secured first place in the 80 kg weight category and qualified for the overall round of the Dharmashree title.
The winners of each weight group competed in the final round for the Dharmashree title. Ashim Babu of Muscles and Fitness came in fourth place in the title fight. He received a cash prize of Rs 200,000. Binod Sunuwar of Platinum came in fifth place. He received Rs 180,000 in cash. Siddhant Jasrotia of Nerve the Fitness, who came in sixth place, received Rs 50,000 in cash.
In the weight category competition, Siddhant Jasrotia of Nerve the Fitness Station won first place in the 60 kg weight category and was selected overall. Kishan Das Diwakar of Metal Fitness, Kageshwori came in second place, and Dharma Raj Khapung of B&L Fitness Station came in third place. Similarly, Naresh Diwakar of Ujjal Gym Bhaktapur came in fourth place, Surendra Prasad Barma of Byayam Mandir came in fifth, and Sujan Thapa of Ratna Shree Gym Pokhara came in sixth place. In the 65 kg category, Madhav Subedi of Miska Fitness Club came in first place, Ajay Malik of Dare to Fit Gym came in second, Chhitij Thapa of Nepal Byayam Mandir came in third, Milan Rai of Kalanki Gym came in fourth, Nawaraj Dumre of Bhumi Gym and Fitness came in fifth, and Suresh Munikar of Nepal Byayam Mandir came in sixth.
In the 70 kg category, Asim Babu Garunge of Muscle & Fitness stood first, Ashish Deva of Nepal Byayam Mandir became second, Upesh Sapkota of UR Fitness became third, Kabiraj Katuwal of Total Physical Fitness became fourth, Deep Jung Roka Magar of Platinum Fitness finished in fifth, and Atish Bajracharya of Nepal Byayam Mandir finished in sixth.
Binod Sunar of Platinum Fitness came in first place in the 75 kg weight category, followed by Marichman Lama of Chitwan Physical Fitness in second place, Manosh Shrestha of Nepal Byayam Mandir in third place, Pushpa Shankar of Coco Fitness in fourth place, Santosh Shrestha of Platinum Fitness in fifth place, and Brikhman Gurung of Super Fitness in sixth place.
Similarly, in the 80 kg weight category, Lalit Dhimal of Galaxy Fitness Center secured his place in the overall standings by beating Sanjeev Shrestha of Byayam Mandir who announced his retirement after this match. Aditya Thakur of Byayam Mandir came in third place, Anish Thapa of Fitness in fourth place, Bikram Gopali of Matsya Narayan in fifth place, and Shishir Thapa Magar of Iron Gym in sixth place.
Umesh Rai won first place in the above 80 kg weight category and was selected for the Dharmashree title, while Grace Maharjan of Byayam Mandir came in second place.
Subash Shrestha of Byayam Mandir secured third place, followed by Ramsharan Maharjan of Eagle Fitness and Gym in fourth place, Sagar Shrestha of Power Physical Fitness in fifth place, and in the sixth place Kings of Weight category, the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth place winners received medals and trophies along with cash prizes of 50,000, 40,000, 30,000, 20,000, and 15,000, respectively.
Similarly, Tara Khaiju from Bhaktapur Dispirado won first place in the women’s open. Similarly, Shanta Palikhe of Complete Health Club came in second, Urmila Shrestha of Divine Physical Fitness came in third, Sofila Shah Karki of Platinum Fitness came in fourth, Shila Thakuri of Divine Physical Fitness came in fifth, and Ripu Gharti of Patan Fitness came in sixth.
Kishor Shahi of Nepal Byayam Mandir stood first in the Masters Open category of the competition. Similarly, Raj Kumar Shahi from Kathmandu Gym came in second place, Krishna Singh Shahi of Nepal Byayam Mandir came in third place Khimlal Pun of Fitness Factory came the fourth, Suraj Shrestha of Nepal Byayam Mandir came in fifth, and Rajkumar Rai, a former international taekwondo player and gold medalist at the 8th South Asian Games, came in sixth.
Akash Shrestha of Power Physical Fitness won first place in the Men’s Sports Physique 170 cm category. Similarly, Nur Bahadur Kunwar of RNFC, Shiv Kumar Singh of Nepal Byayam Mandir, Autar Shrestha of Muscles and Fitness, Pukar Shakya of Expose Gym, and Laxmi Dutta Pant of Fit to Fitness secured second to sixth places respectively.
Similarly, Raman Tuladhar of Gold’s Gym won first place in the above 170 cm group. Similarly, Nur Bahadur Kunwar of RNFC, Shiv Kumar Singh of Nepal Byayam Mandir, Autar Shrestha of Muscles and Fitness, Pukar Shakya of Expose Gym, and Laxmi Dutta Pant of Fit to Fitness secured second to sixth places respectively.
The winners of PL Singh Men’s Athletic Physique Over and Under and Women’s Bodybuilding have received Rs 2 lakh each and the runners-up have received Rs 1 lakh each. Likewise, the third placer received 70,000, the fourth placer 50,000, the fifth placer 40,000, and the sixth placer 30,000. Similarly, the second placer received 50,000, the third placer 30,000, the fourth placer 25,000, the fifth placer 15,000, and the sixth placer 10,000. This time, cash prizes have been arranged for the top six players in all categories.
The winning bodybuilders were awarded prizes by the chief guest of the competition, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah, special guest KMC spokesperson Naveen Manandhar, as well as chairmen of various wards, artists, social workers, celebrities from various fields, well-known personalities, sportspersons, and others. This time, the men’s physique competition has been named the PL Singh Men’s Physique Competition after the late PL Singh, former mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
The main sponsor of the 17th Dharmashree is Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
