Middle distance runner Santoshi Shrestha set a new record in the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) in December, 2019, as she became the first athlete of the country to clinch middle distance gold in the sub-continental sports festival.

Shrestha edged the Indian runner by 10 milliseconds in the SAG. Following the sub continental event, the outspoken athlete has secured top finishes in nine events including the half marathon at the CoAS marathon last month.

The 28-year-old is one of the five nominees of the peoples' choice award under annual Pulsar Sports Award to take place at the Nepal Academy hall in Kathmandu. National women's football team goalkeeper Anjila Tumbapo Subba, cricketer Kushal Bhurtel, table tennis player Elina Maharjan and badminton star Prince Dahal are other nominees for the awards.

The winner among them will be decided on the basis of eSewa votes, Facebook Likes on the official page of the Sports Award and points allocated by head coaches of 27 sports associations affiliated with the Nepal Olympic Committee and members of the Nepal Sports Journalists’ Forum. The eSewa votes will have 50 percent weightage, Facebook Likes 25 percent, and the points allocated by coaches and NSJF members will have 12.5 percent weightage each.

Shrestha said she had never thought to become a professional runner when she came into the game 14 years ago. She competed in the seventh National Games in 2019 as a middle distance runner and continuously bettered herself. The success of SAG proved a turning point in her career.

For the last one year she has transformed herself as one of the strong contenders of long distance running. She claimed half marathon titles at Nepalgunj Marathon, Run For Protein and Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) marathon within the last five months.

Shrestha also set a new national record in the Run For Protein half marathon with a timing of 1 hour 14 minutes and 14 seconds breaking Kanchhi Maya Koju's previous record of 1 hour 18 minutes and 28 seconds. She has won gold in all nine events she participated after the 13th SAG since December 2019.

She is also among a few Nepali athletes to take sports and studies together. The masters' degree holder at Public Administration has challenged the thought that non-departmental players cannot excel in sports. Shrestha, who hails from Dhading, is a civic player and has declined numerous offers from departmental teams — Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepal Army — to join them.