25 years have passed since the 8th South Asian Games (SAG) was held in Nepal. It was also exactly the same year that the synthetic track was laid at Dashrath Stadium. This was in 1999. A synthetic track was made for the first time in Nepal for greens.

Some of the records set on the same track on the eighth green are still unbeaten. There are some records in the name of speed runner Devimaya Paneru, which have not been broken yet. 

Devimaya, who set a national record in the women's 100 and 200 m races, won two bronze medals in the relay. Since then, no runner has been able to break the national record set in this sprint event, and Nepal has not even won a bronze medal in the relay. Bina Shrestha, Samigya Shakya and Sushmita Thapa along with Devi won bronze in 4 x 100m relay and Keshamaya Shreesh and Harimaya Chaudhary along with Devi, Bina won bronze with a national record in 4x400m relay. Devi has a record of 12.19 seconds in 100 meters and a record of 25 seconds in 200 meters. The record of 100 meters relay also remains the same. 

Devimaya, a runner who has played three editions of the South Asian Games, has also participated in the Olympics. She ran the 100m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, clocking 12.95 seconds. His sporting journey took a turn after the ninth race in Islamabad in 2004, but Nepali athletics has not been able to find a good player to break the record in the short distance during this interval. Whereas after the synthetic track was made, one or more good players had to come out.

Even the record-breaking runner Devimaya is not happy that her record has not been broken for so long. His concern is that good sprinters are not being produced. In a personal sense, the record has a great importance, it is also for me. However, if a single national record is not broken for a long time, it is a loss for the country,' she said, 'If we are not able to break our own country's record, how can we compete at the international level?' . She says, "My record at that time is nothing at the international level now." They are running in 10-11 seconds. That's why we are where we are in the short distance race, it is good to say that we have set a new record.' However, the previous national records for both men and women have not been broken. The Olympian goddess wants her records to be broken soon. She has been saying that she will personally give 1 lakh rupees as an incentive to those who break their records during competitions. However, that has not been completed. 

Sprinter Devimaya, who ruled the sprint for almost a decade, now lives in America. It has been 20 years since I moved to America with my family in search of opportunities. She came to Nepal with her husband (Devendra Parajuli) to celebrate Dasain this year and recently recalled her past moments at the Dasharath Rangshala complex. He understood that the atmosphere in athletics that used to be there is no longer there. She heard the same from her friends. She recalled, "At that time, there used to be 4-5 hundred people who entered the stadium for training in the morning, now you can count them on your fingers. We players also worked so hard that we were ready to stay in the stadium during training. It was encouragement that inspired him to reach the stadium. Even now, I don't get that.'

Devimaya has not seen much change in Nepali sports even though there have been many changes in technology over time. Instead, he feels like he is falling more and more. "The first opportunity was less, the players themselves used to work hard, now wherever there is an opportunity, they jump towards that (abroad). There is no place to blame the players either. The state should think about the life of the players after the game. Apart from those who are affiliated to the department, the condition of the players is miserable," she said.

Devi's race begins

Devimaya is from Dhaijan in Jhapa district. Although she was not very interested in running, she ran 100 meters for the Virendra Shield in Class 8 with her teacher's insistence. She beat everyone in the school selection. She also became the first at the district level. After that, she became the second in the East Zone level Virendra Shield. She ran in the 31st National Track and Field Championship held at Birganj in 1994, representing Purvanchal. She won a bronze medal there. Then Devi got the nerve to run. 'Now how can I be the first?' This hoothuti started to give him a run in the early morning on the stone-paved road of Dhaijan. I used to run in the dark so that people would see me when it was light. At that time, in the village, there was fear of what the family and society would say when a girl took part in sports. In the beginning, I was not hindered even from home," she recalled the first day.

After finishing third in the championship, she joined the national training camp. After he had to stay in Kathmandu for training, the then president of Nepal Amateur Athletics Association, Raghuraj Vant, arranged for him to study at Shanti Nikunj Mavi in ​​Basantpur. She used to take training from trainer Nar Bahadur Dahal at Dasharath Rangshala. She was selected for the 7th South Asian Games (Madras, 1995) after keeping excellent timings in the camp. There she participated in the 100 and 200 meter races. It was his first international appearance.

In Madras, her home competitor, sprinter Bina Shrestha, set a national record of 13.09 seconds. Bina broke the record of 13.48 seconds set by Manju Shrestha in 1991 at Colombo Sag. In the eighth edition of Saag, Devimaya improved the record without her. At that time, even though we were behind in technology, there was a gradual improvement in timing. Now there is advanced training but there is no improvement in timing,' Devi expressed concern, 'We have fallen far behind. In 100 meters, the timing of our players should be around 10-11 seconds. But unfortunately, we have been following the same timing for 25 years.' 

She tells that she ruled the sprint single-handedly even though she suffered. "When I lived in Kathmandu, I used to walk from Maitidevi to Rangshala for 10 years. It was during this time that I dominated short distance running, leading the Police Club to 5 gold medals at national competitions. From 1996 to the day I left for America, I never left behind," she told the story of her struggling success. At the age of 14, he was signed by the Police Club after doing well in the national competition. Without Bina, Manju, Devi's presence, the women's sprint was policed. Devendra, who is a police officer, used to go to the stadium to watch Devi's race. There was a bond between them while going there. After the eighth Saag, love marriage is done.  Devimaya did not get to play Asiad even after making a splash in the

sprint. In the two editions during her pregnancy, in the 1998 Bangkok Asiad, Nepal only sent athletes in the long and middle distance events, while in the 2002 Busan Asiad, she could not participate due to her pregnancy. By the time of the 2006 Doha Asiad, she had reached America. She participated in international competitions such as Asian Track and Field, World Championship.

How did you come to America, known as the fastest running woman in Nepal? Devimaya told, 'The earnings were normal, the daughter was already born. The Maoist conflict was raging in the country. The husband did not know when and where he had to go to fight. While looking for opportunities, I came across DV. On the other hand, at that time, Devendraji's name appeared in Inspector, but we fell in love with him and went to America.' 

They arrived in America with a 14-month-old baby and had to struggle a lot in the initial days. Where did we get what we were thinking about? It was very difficult. But did not give up. After starting a small business in 2013, moving to America became easier,” said Devendra. They are running a gas station and an ice cream parlor and now employ more than 15 people. There are also many Nepalis in it. Devimaya says that even though she is across seven seas, she cannot be away from Nepali sports and athletics. She says, 'Running is in my blood. If I was still here, I would have become a coach, but if not, I will still be associated with athletics in one way or another. Earlier, when there were 'games', I used to send prizes as a courtesy.'