Sports
Karate looks to emulate the success of 2011 Games
Nepal was billed martial arts powerhouse after karate and taekwondo secured 14 gold medals each in the 1999 South Asian meet.Prajwal Oli
Karate looks to emulate the success of 2011 South Asian Games when Nepal plays host to the 13th edition of the multi-event sports meet on December 1-10 in Kathmandu.
Karate is one of the most successful sports disciplines in terms of gold haul at the South Asian Games. Karate has so far struck a total of 20 gold medals, three of those coming in eighth edition in 2011 in Dhaka. Taekwondo tops the gold tally in the history of the Games for Nepal with 24. Nepal have so far claimed a total of 73 gold medals in the Games.
"It would be unrealistic to consider matching the feat of 1999 but we are pretty confident that Nepali karate will come up with the second best showing ever," said Coach Madan Upreti, who only took over the top job on June 21.
Nepal were billed the martial arts powerhouse after karate and taekwondo secured 14 gold medals each in 1999, the last time Nepal hosted the event on home turf. It was the same edition when Nepal finished second—the best finish till date—behind table-topper India with a total of 31 gold medals. India collected 102 gold medals.
Nepal, however, have failed to live up to their billings with the next best result coming in 2011 where they won three gold medals. The karatekas sat idle at home when the last edition was held in India as the sport was scrapped due to the infighting in Indian Karate Federation.
Currently 84 karatekas are undergoing closed camp training since July 21. Twenty four more karatekas joined the group for the team kumite from Friday. Before team kumite players joined the camp, only the gold medallists of the eighth National Games were undergoing training. The team kumite will be a new edition to the Games.
"Bringing in more players to the training camp means there will be more competition and eagerness to excel the others, which is good in a way. It’s an opportunity for those who failed to win gold at the National Games. Now the National Games’ silver and bronze medallists also joined the camp. They can even pip gold medallists for the final squad. We have four karatekas in every weight category now," said Upreti.
Coaches Kushal Shrestha, Rajesh Shrestha, Radhika Deula, Bir Krishna Shahi, Ganga Ram Maharjan, Tara Gurung, Gopi Lal Bamjan, Pradip Rai and Gopal Maharjan are currently conducting the training under Upreti's leadership. Before announcing the final team for the Games, karate will organize one last selection tournament by September 4.
The Game will offer 19 gold medals: nine in women's and 10 in men's category. While male individual kumite (fight) will have seven gold medals, one gold each will be on offer for individual kata, team kata and team kumite. The women’s event will have six weight divisions in kumite apart from individual kata, team kata and team kumite.
"We are in talks with the National Sports Council (NSC) to hire a good foreign instructor. Training at our own facilities by a good instructor would be a much better idea than spending time abroad. It will help us keep focus in training rather than touring around new sites," Upreti said.
Upreti blames poor management and power politics for the deteriorating performance of Nepali karate in recent years. “The administration needs to support its technical manpower all the time, which has not been the case of late. We also need proper funding all around to see the game flourish," added Upreti. Upreti said Nepal Karate Federation is planning to take its players to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan to play friendly matches, while also inviting them home to do the same.
Diwas Shrestha, the current men's 84kg division national champion, was happy with the training regime. "The environment is much better now since the inclusion of the podium finishers of the National Games," said the 26-year-old who also struck a bronze medal in the Thailand Open Championship last month. Shrestha believes that better international exposure in the lead up to the Games will put karatekas in a good stead to strike more gold medals.
Women's 64kg champion Aster Rai also demanded international matches ahead of the Games. "International exposure is crucial to gain match experience ahead of a mega event like the South Asian Games," said Rai, who crashed out of her first bout during the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan last month.
Sonam Lama (50kg), Bijay Shrestha (55kg), Rajib Pudasaini (60kg),Nabin Rasaili (67kg), Ganga Kusuwar (75kg), Diwas Shrestha (84kg) and Dipen RajSingh (84kg plus) are the current nationalchampions in the men's kumite while MondayKaji Shrestha is the national champion in individual kata. Misli Shrestha(50kg), Ashmita Rai (55kg), Aster Rai (61kg), Sunny Tamang (68kg), AnupamaMagar (above 68kg) and Chanchala Dunwar(individual kata) are the national champions in women's section. Jia Karki, the45kg champion in the National Games, has been replaced bysilver medallist Kushma Khadka. Karki opted out of the training camp forpersonal reasons.***
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