Nepal Sports Journalists’ Forum (NSJF) feted senior sports journalists Ajay Rana and youth sports reporter Sanjay Thapa during its 16th annual general assembly in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Rana was presented with sports journalism honour and Thapa with Suman Bhomjan Memorial Youth Sports Journalism award. Rana got a letter of appreciation and check of Rs25,000 while Thapa received a laptop along with an appreciation letter.

Rana, who started his journalism career in 1981 and retired as an editor of The Rising Nepal in 2017, thanked NSJF for recognising his work even after his retirement. Thapa, who started journalism nine years ago said that such rewards would encourage youths like him to be more active.

NSJF, the umbrella organisation of sports journalists, also feted its member Pawan Acharya who was recently elected associate secretary of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) executive committee. Bikash Karki and Kriti Bhattarai, who were elected FNJ associate executive members, were also honoured. NSJF members Dhruba Tuladhar and Kushal Timalsian, elected unopposed as treasurer and member of the associate province respectively, were also honored at the function.

Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha said that it was high time that the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other stakeholders including sports associations took a collective decision for players as the number of Covid-19 victims were increasing lately.

"The whole sports sector came to a standstill due to coronavirus last year. If the current situation continues to deteriorate, the stakeholders must come up with plans to train specific players as per the requirements," said Shrestha.

Meanwhile, the 16th general assembly of the NSJF also unanimously approved its progress report and financial report.