Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) felicitated veteran sports journalist Mukunda Bogati and reporter Ramesh Subedi amid a function in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

NSJF feted Bogati with NSJF Journalism Honour for his long and outstanding contribution as a sports journalist on the occasion of their 28th establishment day that falls on September 13.

He was feted with a letter of appreciation, medal and a purse of Rs25,000. Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, NSJF President Durga Nath Subedi and All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) General Secretary Kiran Rai among others feted him.

Ramesh Subedi, who works as a sports reporter at Naya Patrika daily, was honoured with the Suman Bhomjan Memorial Youth Sports Journalism Award. He was given a letter of appreciation and a laptop.

The 50-year-old Bogati started journalism in 1993 from Jana Swatantra Weekly and joined Kantipur Publications two years later where he worked for two and a half decades. He served as the NSJF president for two stints from 1997 to 2002.

“The felicitation by NSJF, the organisation that I myself was involved in its inception, is the biggest recognition of all in my career as a journalist. It is an emotional day for me,” said Bogati. “Very few journalist organisations organise such programmes and getting recognition along with young journalists is something special.”

Bogati said he was a football fan before starting sports journalism. The motivation given by the seniors of NSJF had encouraged him and shaped his career. “I hope to get guidance and support from seniors in future as well,” he said.

NSJF informed that they started honouring journalists a decade ago on the occasion of its establishment day with a view to recognise the contributions of senior sports journalists and preserve history of sports journalism in the country.

Congratulating the awardees, NOC President Jeevan Ram Shrestha indirectly admitted that Nepali athletes’ chances of winning medals at Asian Games scheduled from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, China, were slim.

“Though the government allocated budget for the Games, it was very late for preparation. The preparation could have been much better with the same amount had it been allocated on time,” said Shrestha “It’s high time that we think of changing our training schedules and start training for the next Asian Games promptly once the event is over.”

Meanwhile, NSJF also organised an internal futsal tournament NSJF Cup on Wednesday. Team Profile led by Prajwal Oli claimed the title defeating Team Features led by Aman Pratap Adhikary. The winners trophy and certificates were also handed on the same occasion.