Nepal Youth and Sports Minister Jagat Bahadur Bishwakarma laid the foundation for a 18,500-capacitive multi-purpose stadium in Pokhara on March 10, 2019.

The construction of the stadium began two months back and is expected to be completed on time before the commencement of South Asian Games (SAG) 2019. #SAG2019

“We have the responsibility to host South Asian Games (SAG), which is a matter of our national prestige. I am sure that construction will be completed on time,” says the Minister.

Bishwakarma further informed that the stadium is being constructed with the state-of-the-art facilities and would help in promoting Pokhara for ‘sports tourism’ in Nepal.

“We need to make sure that the master plan meets latest standards. Even if it takes 10-15 years to complete, the stadium needs to meet all the requirements of the international arena,” says National Sports Council Keshav Kumar Bista.

Bista confirmed that the football ground construction will be completed within the set deadlines to host SAG 2019.

“The stadium with 18,500 seats will be Nepal’s biggest and most advanced sports facility. It can be expanded to 30,000 seats in future,” Bista adds.

To facilitate SAG 2019, special sports halls for Archery and lawn tennis courts are also being constructed. However, the construction of cricket ground, tracks, hall for Martial Arts, swimming pool and other facilities are yet to begin.

For the first time in Nepal’s history, the construction authority is using steel modular system for building the new stadium and is importing material from France and Germany.

“Every association and council should help on their parts to complete this project, which will help establish Pokhara and the entire Gandaki province as a center of sports tourism in future. Sports lovers should press concerned officials for timely completion of the project,” read an official statement.

Multi-purpose hall is being constructed at an investment of NPR 150 million, Archery Arena with NPR 20 million, Tennis hard court, clay court and changing room along with parapet with NPR 25 million, Badminton-covered hall with NPR Rs 35 million, Volleyball training area with NPR 12.5 million and a Handball ground with Rs 1 million investment.

The stadium is being built at a total cost of NPR 1.3 billion.

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Also Read

• International Cricket Stadium Coming Up At Bharatpur City!
• Nepal — A Growing Cricket Nation
• Sandeep Lamichhane – Pride of Nepal’s New-Age Cricket

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Here comes another new update about Nepal’s participation in one of the world’s summer championships.

Nepal is preparing for the Special Olympic World Summer Games in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) scheduled on March 14-21, 2019.

The participating Nepali team was given a grand farewell amid a program in Nepal Sports Council on March 05, 2019.

In the championship, Nepali players will be seen in the five-A side unified futsal, bocce and athletics.

Nagina Maharjan, Saurabh Karki, Adesh Raj Kafle, Adit Bajracharya, Ajaya Tamang, Elisa Neupane, Sabina Chhusyabaga, Anish Karki, Mahendra Karki, Ishwar Limbu, Mahima Koirala, Sagar Sherchan, Kshitiz Baniya, Sunita Sunuwar, Ishan Shrestha and Dhana Bahadur Chhetri are Nepali players participating in the sports tournament.

Ganesh Parajuli is the Chief Coach and Thakur Prasad Gautam is the Futsal Coach.

Rahul Lamichhane and Shanti Thapa are appointed athletics instructors, while Bimala Lama is going to be the bocce instructor.

Chairperson of Special Olympic Nepal Dr Shikshita Shrestha is leading the team as its leader.

The team will leave for UAE on March 7, 2019.

The upcoming trip will be the second such from Nepali sportsmen after the national cricket team’s recent visit for the ODI and Twenty20 cricket with UAE team.

Hope the summer tournament will be another biggie for Nepalis!

All the Best Nepal!

The post Special Olympic World Summer Games 2019 Welcomes Nepal, UAE appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The championship concluded in Mumbai (India) on December 24, 2018 saw Nepal winning the main title bagging 20 gold medals.

A squad from the Sports Science Academy of Nepal bagged these awards towards Kata and Kumite along with two silvers as well, informed Academy Director Nabin Upreti.

Junior players also got the chance to showcase their talents; Sonim Manandhar alone won three gold including in 45-kg Kumite and junior Kata.

Sanju Deshar was another who won two golds in 35-kg Kumite and U-13 Kata.

Muna Shakya in 40-kg Kumite and U-14 Kata, Asmita Rai in 55-kg Kumite and U-15, Rashmi Pandey in 45-kg Kumite and U-16 Kat, Bimala Nepali in 45-kg Kumite (senior) and senior Kata, and Hrishav Raj Giri in U-16, 55 kg Kumite and Kata were among others who clinched gold medals in the championship.

Players who won golds in the President Running Shield over the three previous years got a chance to perform in this international event.

The post International Karate Championship 2018: Nepal Marks Victory With 20 Gold Medals appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Asian Games 2018 or ASIAD 2018, held in Indonesia from August 18-September 02, 2018, saw 45 nations, 465 events in 40 sports and a total of 11,646 athletes participating in it.

The pan-Asian multi-sport event saw Nepal alone fielding a total of 185 players in 29 different games including Archery, Paragliding, Football, Table Tennis, Kabaddi, Volleyball, Swimming, Athletics, Judo, Taekwondo, Boxing, Golf, Weightlifting, Basketball, among others.

Despite sincere attempts, the country had to return only with a single medal i.e. the ‘silver medal’ in the paragliding category on August 29, 2018 and also saw new national records in weightlifting.

It is noteworthy that Nepal bagged victory even in the International Paragliding Competition held in Swarek of Syangja, Nepal during November 1-6, 2017.

A Rare Honor
Lauding the winning performance of Nepali paragliders, the Government of Nepal felicitated the paragliding team and key members behind it with a rare honor.

In a program organized by the National Sports Council (NSC) on September 03, 2018, the government offered cash rewards to key players of the Nepali paragliding team, the team coach and other local associations that support the sport over the period.

The Minister for Youth and Sports Jagat Bahadur Bishwakarma, NSC Member Secretary Keshav Kumar Bista and Chairman of the Nepal Olympic Committee Jeevan Ram Shrestha respected the players with cash rewards of Rs 500,000 each, the Chief Coach Yogesh Bhattarai with Rs 300,000 cash and the Assistant Coach Sanu Babu Shrestha with Rs 150,000 in cash and letter of appreciation.

Sports association also received a Rs 500,000 cash prize for supporting the players and the game.

Nepal Paragliding and Hang Gliding Associations also received a cash rewards worth Rs 500,000 each and Sports Manager Shailesh Raut received a ‘Letter of Appreciation’.

Bishal Thapa, Sushil Gurung, Bijay Gautam, Yukesh Gurung, Bimal Adhikari were among the key persons who received rare honor at the program organized by the National Sports Council (NSC) in Kathmandu on September 03, 2018.

Despite a Challenging Scenario
Medals apart, the country’s sports fraternity considers this as a successful attempt for Nepal in the global sports arena.

In a statement prior to the event, the Nepal Sports Council (NSC) said the ’participation’ in the ASIAD 2018 event itself is a great achievement for Nepal and its athletes.

“Participation in the Asian Games itself is like winning medals for players of Nepal,” said NSC Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista, speaking on the sidelines of the Asian Games 2018.

Bista was happy that the country could manage to field 185 players despite the discouraging records in the past global sports events that did not position the country as expected.

To everyone’s surprise, the country’s 29 sports teams did not even get a chance to undergo proper training for ASIAD 2018 and did not turn back despite the challenging situation.

Besides, the announcements in all these 29 categories were made just two weeks ahead of the tournament, which made it a rare feat for the Nepali participants in ASIAD 2018.

Till ASIAD 2018, Nepal had won 23 medals including a silver and 22 bronze medals in the last 15 Asian Games participation they participated in since 1951.

Whereas the ASIAD 2018 that ended on September 02, 2018 saw the country winning ‘one silver, four national records and a total of 24 wins including all events’ adding to its sports victory bank.

Expectations & Realities
Among 29 sports events that Nepal fielded its participants, the country expected a lot from Taekwondo, Swimming, Kabaddi, among other sports.

With a strong history of holding 14 out of 23 medals that the country won until ASIAD 2018, Nepali taekwondo team was high on expectations in the Asian Games 2018 for its team strength that had the most successful players- Deepak Bista, Sangina Baidhya, Badri Prasad Ghimire and Norbu Lama.

Swimming is another category that the country expected a lot from in the Asian Games 2018, majorly because of the country’s swimming sensation Gaurika Singh.

Another is the Kabaddi team, a classic example of breaking the barriers! ‘Participation’ in the Asian Games 2018 itself was a tough scenario for the Nepali kabaddi team.

The kabaddi team made it to the Asian Games 2018 after a long gap of 19 years, 18 months after the previous editions of Asian Games held in Beijing.

However, the kabaddi team’s entry in the Asian Games 2018 was backed by the encouragement that the team drew from the 2010 South Asian Games by winning ‘Bronze’ medal and the 2^nd position in the International Invitational Men’s Kabaddi Tournament.

Karate is another category that was high on expectation for its rich background of bringing in three bronze medals for the country in the Asian Games and also as the winner of the medal in the 2014 Incheon ASIAD.

Boxing, the other category with a history of giving six bronzes to the country, ended up with nothing in Asian Games 2018.

Despite winning medals, few wins in some categories gave new hope to the country to perform well in the events to come. They were:

• New national records by four weightlifters: Kamal Bahadur Adhikari, Tara Devi Pun & Sanju Chaudhary and Som Bahadur Kumal in 800-m race
• Three victories in Badminton: One in men’s doubles & one each in women’s singles & doubles)
• Four victories in Table Tennis by Santoo Shrestha & Nabita Shrestha in singles and Amar Lal Malla & Swechhya Nembang in mixed doubles
• Two walkover wins in Volleyball
• One in each in Kabaddi, Basketball, Kurash and Sepak takraw
• At the end of the Asian Games 2018, Nepali team finished at the bottom-second in the Mixed Team Relay event of triathlon held in Palembang on September 02, 2018

On an End Note
Be it in cricket, football or any other sport that the country is famous for, relentless efforts and strong will to shine at the international level have been the unique aspects of Nepali athletes that are pushing ahead the country in the world sports.

More local support in the form of training and related efforts by government and local sports groups like NSC will empower the country’s athletes perform more better.

Overall, the Asian Games 2018 has been a ‘fight against tide’ for the Nepali sportspersons and must have given them more confidence needed to face the events to come.

Hard Work has no substitute. Keep up the spirit Nepal!

Also Read:

• Nepal – The Home to Exceptional Sports Talent!

The post Nepal in Asian Games 2018: A Lookback at Performance and Challenges appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As per the latest update, Nepali national cricket team is all set to play its first ODI with The Netherlands cricket team on August 1 and 3, 2018.

The 2-ODI series will be held after the two teams complete their T20 tri-series tournament with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lords scheduled for July 29, 2018.

The two teams last faced each other as part of the 2019 ICC World Cup Qualifier held in March 2018, wherein, Nepal secured ODI status by winning over Papua New Guinea (PNG) registering a new milestone in its cricket history.

Not just for Nepal, the two matches are going to be special for The Netherlands as well, as the latter is returning to ODI after a long gap of five years during which it also lost its ODI status in a match with Canada in 2014.

“We’re delighted to welcome Nepal for their first ODIs and our first ODI on home soil since 2013. After the honor of being invited to play at Lords, we look forward to showing our home fans what we can do,” Netherlands Coach Ryan Campbell said in a statement.

Lauding the Nepali national team, Campbell said, “Nepal are an exciting team as we’ve all seen from the IPL Sandeep Lamichanne is a world class player, will be a privilege to have them here. Nepal have always drawn good crowds in Holland, I’m sure it will be a great occasion.”

These matches also mark Nepal’s first trip to the Low countries after 2016 when the two teams shared honors in the two List A international matches under the fourth round of the World Cricket League Championship.

Dream That Came True!

March 15, 2018 is one important day for Nepal, more specifically in its cricket history. That was the day when the country’s most-awaited wish has come true in the form of ODI status.

With an outstanding victory over PNG in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier play-off at the Old Hararians Sports Club in Zimbabwe, Nepal made its entry into the elite group of world nations with ODI status.

The post Nepal All Set for Maiden ODI with The Netherlands appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Twelve-year-old Nepali football enthusiasts Girish Maskey and Anmesh Rayamajhi have been selected as Nepal’s representatives for this program launched in Nepal recently.

While Girish Maskey is set to join young footballers from around the world in Moscow in June 2018, Anmesh Rayamajhi is going to act as the young journalist to report on all the local and global activities of the F4F programme as part of the International Children’s Press Center and will also spread awareness on the core values (friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions and honor) of the program.

The two Nepalis will be part of the 32 International Teams of Friendship and play against each other in the championship that aims to bring together children from around the world and celebrate the unifying spirit of football.

Besides, the two young Nepalis will also take part in the Sixth F4F International Children’s Forum in Russia along with the participants from different countries, wherein, they will discuss with famous footballers and journalists on the ways to promote key values of the F4F programme, globally.

The sixth season of the program will conclude with a visit by the participating children to the opening ceremony and the first match of the FIFA football World Cup 2018.

To Build Ties Globally

“The selection of the young ambassadors from Nepal is an extension of our support to this unique global initiative. The programme is a wonderful opportunity for the ambassadors to build ties of friendship among children from around the world and foster peace and harmony through the beautiful game of football. We wish our young ambassadors all the best for the programme and look forward to their contribution in promoting the key values of the programme, in Russia, as well as in Nepal,” said Sanjib Mishra, Deputy General Secretary, All Nepal Football Association, on the selection of young ambassadors.

Nepal is joining this program for the first time in its history alongside 210 other countries and regions.

The F4F program, supported by Gazprom and FIFA aims at developing youth football and a healthy lifestyle as well as promoting tolerance, open-mindedness and respect of different cultures and nationalities between children from across the globe.

The post Football for Friendship: 12-Yr-Old Nepalis Selected for Global F4F Program appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepali women’s handball team won the maiden international medal at the runner’s up position in the championship that concluded in Lucknow on April 3, 2018.

Though the Nepali team got the global-level recognition, it lost out the match to the Indian handball team for 24-5 score. According to Nepal Handball Association, this is the maiden international medal for the Nepali women’s handball team.

This round robin championship was played among five countries including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Nepal.

While India won all the four matches to stand as the champion, the Nepali team won over Bangladesh (26-17), Afghanistan (23-4) and Bhutan (28-4) in the earlier matches, and Bangladesh bagged only two victories.

The Nepali team comprises of Skipper Uma Rai, Aita Lhamu Sherpa, Parbati Chaudhary, Kabita Rai, Jina Rai and Nisha Rai, among others, while Ramesh Sapkota and Arun Lal Karna are the coaches.

Runner Up Nepal

Matches held in Bangladesh gave a different turn to the championship ending in mixed results for the teams.

While the Bangladeshi women’s handball team won over Afghan team by 35-9 goals in the Day-1 match, the team lost it out to the Nepali team by 17-26 score, which moved up Nepal’s position.

Also Read:

• Nepal’s Growing Enthusiasm for Handball
• Football for Friendship: FIFA Partner Launches Special Football Program for Nepali Youth
• Nepal Scripts History, Secures ODI Status

The post South Asia Handball Championship: Nepal Bags International Medal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Tuladhar, a 15-year old eighth grader from Kathmandu’s Rosebud School, emerged as the best trainee during the training camp conducted by Real Madrid foundation coaches and UEFA ‘A’ license holders Daniel Landaburu Rotella and Rafael Palacios in June 2017.

Tuladhar will travel to Singapore on Friday to attend the five-day camp from April 9-13, 2018.

The camp, organized by Subharambha Education and Sports Tour Pvt Ltd, attracted around 70 aspiring soccer players.

Encouragement from the Sponsors

“This is the best opportunity for him to showcase his talent and come out as a pure footballer. If he manages to make his mark during that training camp, he will also be provided further training opportunities at the U-15 football camp in Real Madrid, Spain,” says Subharambha Managing Director Bijay Khatri.

Subharambha will sponsor Tuladhar’s transportation and accommodation expenses to the tune of Rs 500,000.

Damodar Dhungana, the Principal of Rosebud School, also conveyed his encouragement to Tuladhar.

“I would like to thank Subharambha for giving such a big opportunity to Bidit. This opportunity is the best thing that could happen to a young aspiring footballer,” added Dhungana.

The post Nepali Footballer Selected for Real Madrid’s Training Camp appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

While it was Dandi Biyo the national sport of Nepal until the day, the country’s then-ruling government took a historic decision that enthralled the global sports community. In an exciting decision, the erstwhile Government of Nepal officially declared Volleyball as Nepal’s national sport replacing Dandi Biyo.

Nepal is one of the few countries to officially declare Volleyball as the national sport!

How It Started?

The discussion over volleyball as Nepali national sport began three years before 2017, wherein, the Ministry for Youth and Sports had initiated discussions and sought public suggestions.

Though volleyball has come under consideration for national sport status many times in the Nepali cabinet, the decision took its real form only when the Nepal Volleyball Association (NVA) stepped up with its demands.

NVA demanded the government to make volleyball the national sport citing reasons such as less space required to play the game (as it requires only a less area and can be played on any kind of land) and economic feasibility.

Upon the official declaration in 2017, the Ministry said that the government’s decision was majorly dependent on the recommendations by the stakeholders of the Nepal sports fraternity.

Why Only Volleyball?

At the time when volleyball was proposed for the national sport status, other sports like cricket and football were also in the race with much hype among the Nepali youth.

However, volleyball has drawn special attention because of its easily-playable nature across terrains.

“Every sport has its own specialty and importance, but to be the national sport it has to be hugely popular and should have a strong organization. Volleyball has completed the minimum requirement to become a national sport. It can be played anywhere in the country, on any terrains, at a low cost. So, it fully deserved to be the national sport,” says NVA’s General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand.

National Men’s Volleyball team skipper Em Rana had also lauded the government’s decision saying, “Volleyball is very much popular in the country and played in every part including the Himalayan region, the hills and the Tarai. So, this decision makes sense.”

National Women’s Volleyball team skipper Manju Gurung said, “Majority of the population grows up playing volleyball. It doesn’t need a big space for playing so we can play it everywhere. Not only players but the whole nation is happy about the government’s decision of making volleyball as the national sport.”

A Way Forward

NVA has been on high alert since the time of announcement and has come a long way in the journey. A month after the official declaration in June 2017, NVA announced its annual calendar with a list of 27 volleyball events stating youth development and strengthening of the existing team as key focus areas.

“School and college events are the platforms where we can identify potential players,” NVA said in a statement.

Adding to the financial strength of the sport, NVA had also added Mayor Cup as part of its calendar to draw budget from the local administration.

“We had organized volleyball festival in 2016 including some 10 schools of the valley. That was a huge success and we have decided to organize such event in all the five development regions to create a volleyball-friendly environment across the country,” NVA General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand said in a statement.

To take the spirit ahead, NVA also has announced plans to unite associations in around 75 districts of the country for an event to commemorate the National Volleyball Day.

Today, NVA stands as the face of Nepal from representing it at the National Sports Council nationally and at the Asian Volleyball Confederation and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, globally.

Major Strides So Far

As part of its journey, NVA has signed some key important agreements and MoUs with national and international organizations for the overall development of national volleyball. Here are some of the key steps the association has taken for the development and promotion of volleyball as national sport of Nepal:

NVA National Club Volleyball Championship: Kickstarting 2018 on a positive note, NVA signed an agreement with Nepal Satellite Telecom (NST) Pvt. Ltd. for the NVA National Club Volleyball Championship. Under the deal, NST has promised Rs 2 million for two editions of the championship over the two years.

NVA Award: On January 20, 2018, NVA announced NVA Award, the first award announced after the announcement of volleyball as a national sport. The award, co-sponsored by City Travels and Tours Pvt. Ltd. is a three-year agreement under which NVA will receive a grant of Rs 1.5 million in three years. The association stands for the recognition of emerging and best players, coaches and teams in both men and women categories. “We are also honoring 40 organizations who have contributed in the development of volleyball,” says NVA General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand.

FNCCI Cup National Volleyball Tournament: One such notable one was the pact signed with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) on January 21, 2018 for the FNCCI Cup National Volleyball Tournament, which is often termed as the biggest sponsorship agreement in the history of Nepali Volleyball.

The agreement proposed plans to conduct three editions of the tournament across the country at the district, provincial and national levels.

As part of the agreement, FNCCI promised NVA of giving the highest-ever sponsorship grant of Rs 12 million per year to organize the men’s and women’s volleyball tournaments.

“We will definitely extend the agreement in coming years as we have made a vision of developing the sport,” says FNCCI Vice-president Umesh Lal Shrestha.

FNCCI President Bhawani Rana is also hopeful of reaching out to Nepali citizens through volleyball. “We had other options in football and cricket, but we chose volleyball as the sport can be played in every part of the country. We want to encourage local people as we want to fulfill our social responsibilities besides focusing on the economic growth of the country. And, we also want to provide an opportunity to the local talents,” Rana said in a statement.

Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Mahesh Prasad Dahal is also hopeful that the special programs like this would promote volleyball from the grassroot levels and find new talents.

“The government is making its plans for infrastructure development and such events will provide much-needed exposure to the talented players in remote places of the country,” says Prasad Dahal.

Meanwhile, Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha says, “Involvement of private sectors is essential for the development of sports and the sponsorship agreement by the umbrella organization is the biggest step towards prosperity. The agreement will be supportive in the development of volleyball and it will also spread a positive messages to the business community.”

There are many other key strides that have been taken over the period for the overall development of volleyball as Nepal’s national sport.

Taking the Sport Further

NVA has been very rigid about needed infrastructure development to develop the sport nationally.

“We will not make false promise of constructing international-standard covered hall within a year or two. It’s the duty of government to provide us with the land so that we can start the construction works. We have submitted the proposal to the National Sports Council, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Finance and we are waiting for their response,” says Chand.

For a strong national volleyball team, NVA had announced its plans to bring in a foreign coach from the Netherlands and has also approached the World Volleyball Federation in this regard.

“We are in talks with World Volleyball Federation and the Netherlands Volleyball Association and we are hopeful of bringing in the Dutch coach,” NVA said in a statement.

Key Events

Some of the key national and international tournaments that gave due recognition to Nepali volleyball both in men’s and women’s categories include Men’s National Volleyball League, Women’s National Basketball League, Men’s Asian Central Zone Volleyball, 4^th International Women’s Volleyball Championship, South Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship, among various others.

Apart from those for recognition and awards, Nepali volleyball was also played in many cases for social causes. One such was the match played by Ropla girls for the fight against child marriages, among others.

Also Read:

• History of Cricket in Nepal
• History of Volleyball, Nepal’s National Sport

The post Volleyball as Nepal’s National Sport- An Overview appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In the tournament’s final match held at Terdthai Cricket Ground on December 17, 2017, Nepali U-16 team registered an astounding 72-run victory against the Singapore U-16 cricket team.

                          Bishal Bakram is the Man of the Match

The Nepali team, which chose to bat first, had set a 184-run target with its dashing batting order.

Scoring 63 runs in 79 balls with a half-century in 68 balls, KC formed a strong base for Nepal’s batting order, followed by hard-hitting Narayan Joshi who scored 46 in just 23 balls with five boundaries and a sixer, Suwash Ayer (22), Trit Raj Das (19) and Sunil Bhandari (15).

When it comes to bowling, Nepali bowlers Surya Tamang and Ajay Kumar Loniya remained the highlights of the match claiming three wickets each, driving the Singaporean U-16 cricket towards failure.

Nepali bowlers sent off the Singaporean U-16 batsmen to pavilion within 35 overs, limiting them to 122-run score and bringing in an outstanding victory for Nepal.

Bishal Bikram led the Nepali team in the absence of Captain Rit Gautam and stood as the ‘Man of the Match’.

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