Tour of the dragon

September 20, 2011Posted inSports10 Comments
This year’s Tour of the Dragon was a grand success. At 2:00 AM on Saturday, 45 riders representing 15 teams took off from the town square in Chamkhar and raced towards Thimphu. 28 of the riders managed to complete the grueling one-day, 268 km mountain bike race from Bumthang to Thimphu. Last year’s fool – the rider who fell off his bike in Trongsa, but stubbornly rode on to complete the race – fared better this time. He didn’t fall. And he clocked a decent 14 hours 16 minutes to complete the race. But this year’s Tour had better…

3-on-3

May 23, 2011Posted inSports2 Comments
Ghandians, Dudly Bros, Usuals, Jachung, Jaguars, Local Z, Pvt Schools and Blue Formers – these are jazzy names of the 3-on-3 basketball teams that will play their quarterfinal matches today. The matches, which will begin at 5:00 PM, will be played on the rather attractive make-shift half-court that has been constructed bang in the middle of the clock tower square. The semifinals will be held tomorrow. And the finals on Wednesday. The Bhutan Basketball Federation, which organized the tournament, is keeping a close eye on all the games – they’ll be recruiting a national team from the participants. Two…

Sportsperson of the year

January 7, 2011Posted inSports
Who’s your favourite sportsperson? No, I’m not talking about international sports personalities. I’m talking about your favourite Bhutanese sportsman or woman. Let’s find out. Please take the poll that asks: who, in your opinion, is the Sportsperson of 2010? My nominations are not exhaustive. Nor are they accurate. They are some of our athletes I’ve read about or heard about from the media during the past year. They are people who I think have excelled in their sport. Or who have shown potential. And who are role models for our children. If I’ve missed any one – and I’m…