The call for better exposure comes from the medal targeted sports discipline especially martial arts. The 11th South Asian Games wushu gold medallist Ang Babu Lama, who carries the weight of breaking the Asian Games duck in the discipline, says it is exposure that sets them apart from the rest in the big arena.  

“I believe we have had the best training so far,” Lama said referring to the two-year rigorous training of the national team players. “But we have been training against each other rather than testing ourselves with new and better opponents from other parts of the world,” added Lama.

Karate player Ganga Devi Adhikari, also the 11th South Asian Games gold winner and the Asia Pacific Championship title holder, echoes the same view as Lama. Adhikari says she and her fellow training camp partners have sensed renewed confidence ever since the arrival of foreign coach Angelo Spataro of Monaco.

“We can feel the changes within us after spending two weeks with Spataro,” Adhikari, who is pinning hopes to strike a medal in Incheon Games which is scheduled to kick off from September 19, said.

“The intensity of the training has changed since the beginning of the closed camp training,” adds Adhikari. “But that alone will not help in our bid to land medals as we also need better sparring and training partners.” She fears the recent successes she has embraced might turn into a bubble burst in the absence of proper training facilities.  

The players also said that the row between sports governing body and associations on the eve of a big tournaments will only contribute to dampen their spirit.  “Hearing rumours of reselection after spending two years in national camp will have negative effect on players’ morale,” the 10th SA Games taekwondo gold medallist Manita Shahi said. Shahi also calls for foreign training to have any chance of breaking into the podium place in South Korea.

Shahi also believed that Nepal have been on the back foot ever since the introduction of mandatory electronic chest pads for players. “We do not have facility to train with the electronic gears here. So a little stop at a place where we could get used to it right before the Asian Games kick off is a must,” revealed Shahi.

Even coaches voiced their concern over the lack of better training exposure. Om Maskey, chief coach of boxing, worries about complacency setting in on his players after training with the same set of local boxers round the clock.

“Boxing is a tough physical game and the players need aggression to get the better of their opponents,” said Maskey. “We need to test ourselves with better opponents which is possible only on foreign lands. But time is running out to make that arrangement,” added Maskey.