Sports
Bista, Khadka make final cut for men’s volleyball team
Tek Bahadur Awasthi of Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club also made it to the national team for the first time.Sports Bureau
Tribhuvan Army Club duo Rajendra Bista and Durga Bahadur Khadka was included in the national men’s volleyball team for the first time as Nepal Volleyball Association on Sunday announced a 14-member squad for AVC Asian Central Zone Senior Volleyball Tournament. The tournament is set for August 17-28 at the Army Physical Training and Sports Centre in Lagankhel.
Along with Bista and Khadka, Tek Bahadur Awasthi of Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club also made it to the national team for the first time. While Bista and Awasthi are outside hitters, Khadka is middle blocker. One of the national team regulars Man Bahadur Shrestha of Army team did not make it to the national team for his failure to play in the eighth National Games. It was mandatory for spikers to play the National Games to come into consideration for selection.
Durga Mahato, Dwarika Thapa, Saran Samari and Raju Sherchan were left out from the 18-member team that was under closed camp training. Although Nepal’s Dutch head coach Hann Abing had finalised the squad on Friday, the association made it official only on Sunday. Im Bahadur Rana is the skipper of Nepali team.
The tournament will feature seven teams including Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and hosts Nepal. If all the teams arrive for competition, the tournament will be played under league-cum-knockout format. But in case of last minute withdrawals rendering it to five or less teams, the tournament will played in round robin league.
Nepal’s assistant coach Sudesh Rimal informed that 25 players were called for the preliminary training camps on June 16. Rimal was satisfied with the way the team is training. He said that the team is focusing more on strengthening “receiving” considering the physical disadvantage Nepali players’ will have over their rivals.
Nepal squad
Narendra Giri, Bishal BK, Raj Kumar Niraula, Hari Adhikari, Durga Bahadur Khadka, Deepak Raj Joshi, Dhana Bahadur Bhatta, Rajendra Bista, Kul Bahadur Thapa, Tek Ram Awasthi, Im Bahadur Magar, Hari Hajur Thapa, Ishwar Thapa Magar, Binod Bahadur Chand