Biplav Lal Shrestha, 28, dropped a bombshell on Wednesday by announcing his retirement from karate. Shrestha, a gold medallist at the previous edition of the South Asian Games (SAG), stepped down blaming the Nepal Karate Federation (NKF) for mistreatment.

Organising a surprise press meet at the office of the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu, Shrestha stated that he never wanted to quit the sport he loved.

“I finally decided to retire as I could not tolerate mistreatments from the office bearers at the NKF,” Shrestha said. “I started feeling neglected after the 19th Asian Games.” He finished fifth in Hangzhou, China, in 2022.

He had been to Australia for more than a month, but when he returned, he found changes in the way he was treated, he said.

Shrestha, a Black Belt Third Dan in Shito-Ryu Karate, won a gold medal in the 84+kg kumite category during the 13th SAG in 2019.

He has also won gold medals for the country at the 5th South Asian Karate Championship, Bangladesh (November 2019), and the 8th South Asian Karate Championship, Bhutan (July 2024). Likewise, Shrestha has won gold medals in more than a dozen different national tournaments including the seventh and ninth editions of the National Games.

A decorated karateka, Shrestha is considered one of the best in Nepal with the chance of winning a medal at the Asian Games. However, Shrestha said that he was not included in the training camp for the 20th Asian Games in Japan (September-October 2026).

The National Sports Council (NSC) has been training athletes with a target of medals in double-figures, including gold, under the banner of ‘Mission 2026’.

“I was trying not to feel negative despite continuous mistreatment,” Shrestha said. “But when I was not included in the training for 2026, I could not stop myself from accepting the harsh reality.”

Shrestha accepted not being included in the first phase as he did not participate in the South Asian Karate Championship Qualifiers two years ago. But after he won the championship in Bhutan last year, Shrestha stressed that he had to be a part of Mission 2026. “As I was not included despite winning gold, I decided to leave the sport,” he said on Wednesday.

Likewise, Shrestha also shared instances when he had heated conversations with NKF officials, including President Yubaraj Lama. Lama conceded he had some heated exchanges with Shrestha recently but refuted the accusations of unfair treatment.

“I saw a full video of the press conference, but the one in the video is not the Biplav I know,” Lama told the Post over the phone. “NKF runs in a system. We treat everyone equally. Shrestha failed the process, so he was not included in the camp. There is nothing personal about it.”

Lama added that Shrestha had gone to Australia for over a month without informing NKF when the federation was selecting players for the camp.

“He did not inform anyone. There is no documentation of his leave request,” Lama said. “Just because you are a champion does not mean that you will get to represent Nepal.”

According to Lama, the NKF organises an internal selection for players competing at the international level. “We pick the top four players and they fight each other in a round-robin format. This process is live,” said Lama. “The winner gets the chance to represent the country and avail of training services.”

While Shrestha stressed not returning to the sport, Lama argued that the doors for Shrestha will always be open and he can climb his way back to the top by winning games.

“The federation has not received his resignation yet,” Lama told the Post.