Sports
Paraglider Adhikari, taekwondo player Gurung win best player awards
Adhikari was the captain of Nepali team that won silver in last year’s Asian Games. Gurung had claimed six national gold medals apart from two silver in Korea.Sports Bureau
Paraglider Bimal Adhikari and taekwondo player Nima Gurung won the NNIPA player of the year awards in the men’s and women’s categories at the annual sports awards organised by the Nepal National and International Players Association in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
The association also awarded the best player awards for 28 games in which Nepal had participated in the 2018 Indonesia Asian Games. The awards were decided by their National Sports Association.
Adhikari and Gurung were named the best players among all 28 awardees at the ceremony held in the Basantapur Dabali. The duo received a purse of Rs 100,000 each and a trophy. The other winners received Rs 10,000 each.
Adhikari was the captain of the Nepali paragliding team that won the silver medal at the Asian Games. It is the biggest achievement by Nepali team in the Asian sports festival so far.
Adhikari, who lives in Pokhara, could not attend the award function after his flight from Pokhara was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
"I am thankful to NNIPA family for rewarding me with the prestigious award," he said over the phone. "We also won the NSJF Pulsar Sports Award earlier this year. These two award ceremonies not only gave us recognition but also encouraged youths to take up paragliding."
Taekwondo player Gurung took the NNIPA player of the year award in the women’s category. She had remained undefeated at domestic court in the last Nepali calendar year in the women's U-53kg division. She has already claimed six national championships golds and was a member of the Nepali team that won individual and team kata silver in the World University Championships in Korea last year. Gurung had also won a bout in the last Asian Games.
Athlete Ajit Kumar Yadav and volleyball player Saraswati Chaudhary won the emerging player awards in the men's and women's categories. The duo received Rs50,000 each.
Ajit had clinched the gold medal in the men's 3,000m race during Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Hong Kong last year.
Meanwhile, Chaudhary is one of the influential members of the Nepal Armed Police Force Club's team that has been ruling the domestic volleyball court for the past couple of years. Mahima Koirala of bosia won the best para-athlete award. She also bagged Rs10,000.
Boxing coach Madan Gurung won the Gajaraj Joshi Ideal Player Award. The 58-year-old was the member of the Nepali boxing team during the first South Asian Games in 1984 and has been in the games for more than three decades. He was rewarded with a purse of Rs 35,000.
Veteran sports photojournalist Shyam Chitrakar was feted with the best sports journalists award. He was given a purse of Rs 25,000. The Post's sports reporter Prajwal Oli was also honoured during the ceremony. Oli had won the best sports columnist award during the global AIPS Sports Media Award held earlier this month.
Award Winners
Tilak Pun Magar (archery), Ajit Kumar Yadav (athletics), Dipesh Dhami (badminton), Manish Rajopadhya (basketball), Punam Rawal (boxing), Omkar Singh (fencing), Bharat Khawas (football), Tanka Bahadur Karki (golf), Indira Bahadur Shrestha (judo), Renuka Kumari Rajbanshi (kabaddi), Bijay Shrestha (Karate), Upendra Thapa (kuras), Prerana Koirala (lawn tennis), Bimal Adhikari (paragliding), Gobinda Chaudhary (pencak silat), Milan Shah Thakuri (roller sports), Roshan Tamang (sepak takraw), Sushmita Nepal (shooting), Pemba Sherpa (sports climbing), Amrit Thapa Magar (squash), Subham Shrestha (swimming), Nabita Shrestha (table tennis), Nima Gurung (taekwondo), Basanta Tharu (triathlon), Saraswati Chaudhary (volleyball), Sanju Chaudhary (weightlifting), Ramesh Gautam (wrestling), Juni Rai (wushu), Mahima Chaudhary (bosia, para athlete), Madan Gurung (boxing, Gajaraj Joshi Ideal Sports Personality Award), Rajendra Chitrakar (sports journalism award).