National women’s volleyball team captain Aruna Shahi and national men’s football team former captain Biraj Maharjan were named the best female and male athletes at the Nepal National and International Players Association (NNIPA) Award on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Shahi had led Nepal to their second successive international volleyball trophy in December last year when they defended the AVC Asian Central Zone Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup defeating Uzbekistan 26-24, 24-26, 25-15, 22-25, 15-10 in Dhaka. Shahi’s team had won the previous edition of the tournament in 2019 that had given the Nepali volleyball team their first ever international silverware.

NNIPA also feted the members of the AVC Championship winning team.

Maharjan, one of the most accomplished national football captains, was part of a team that defeated Bangladesh 2-1 in the final to win the Three Nations Cup in March last year. It was Nepal’s fifth international title and second trophy on home ground. The 31-year-old came as a 90th minute substitute for Tridev Gurung at the Dasharath Stadium and wore the national captain’s armband for the last time. He retired from international football following the game pulling the curtain down on his 13-year long glittering career.

The duo were awarded Rs100,000 each.

Shahi and Maharjan were among the 27 athletes—15 males and 12 females, to receive awards at the NNIPA’s 16th annual award function. The athletes were picked from 27 different sports disciplines that are authorised by the Nepal Olympic Committee. The players were awarded as per the recommendations made by their respective sports associations based on their performance at the domestic and international stages.

Archery’s Gyanu Awale, athletics’ Kiran Singh Bogati, badminton’s Prince Dahal, boxing’s Sushma Tamang, national women’s basketball team captain Sadina Shrestha, cycling’s Rajesh Magar, fencing’s Anita Karki, golf’s Karisma Shah, handball’s Bishal Basnet, hockey’s Anjana Chand, gynmastic’s Rohan Budathoki, karate’s Biplav Shrestha and rafting and canoeing’s Suman Tamang, judoka Sumitra Rai, Ski’s Saphal Ram Shrestha, swimming’s Anubhav Subba, shooting’s Krishna Thapa, kabaddi’s Nageshwar Tharu, table tennis’s Santoo Shrestha, taekwondo’s Parbati Gurung, triathlon’s Himal Tamata and lawn tennis’s Abhilasha Bista, wightlifting’s Kamala Shrestha, whusu’s Nima Gharti Magar and wrestling’s Suresh Chunara were declared best players of the year.

Palesha Goverdhan was conferred with the best paraathlete award. The 17-year-old taekwondo player, born without a palm on her right hand, had reached closer to giving Nepal its first ever paralympic medal winning two repechage contests defeating United States’ Brianna Salinaro 10-0 and Marija Micev of Serbia 23-15 to book a bronze medal bout with China’s Li Yujie at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games last September. Although she lost to Li 12-9 in the women’s K44 below 58 kg weight category repechage bronze medal final, she won the Nepali hearts becoming the first Nepali athlete to have won two matches at a Paralympic Games.

Goverdhan also became the first Nepali athlete to win a para gold when she beat Iran’s Ebrahimi Roza 6-0 in the 2021 Asian Youth Para Games held in Bahrain last December.

Whusu’s Gharti Magar and world’s top ranked junior badminton player Dahal were announced emerging players. Seventeen-year-old Dahal achieved the status as top seed in March this year. Taekwondo player Gurung and Triathlon’s Tamata got talented players awards.

Also, athletics former coach and olympian Pushpa Raj Ojha was honoured with Gajraj Ideal Sports Personality Award. The veteran sprinter represented Nepal in the men’s 400-metre race in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He also played for Nepal from the first edition of the South Asian Games (1984) to the fourth edition (1989).

Likewise, Kantipur Daily’s Himesh Ratna Bajracharya was awarded with NNIPA sports journalism award.