The NSJF Pulsar Sports Award-2081 will be held in Pokhara on September 14, the organisers announced at a press conference in Kathmandu on Friday. The award, which will be celebrating its 22nd edition, is being organised outside the Kathmandu valley for the first time.

The announcement ceremony also saw the organiser, the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF), and main sponsor, Golchha Group, the official distributor of Pulsar motorcycles in Nepal, sign a new five-year agreement. NSJF president Niranjan Adhikari and Golchha Group director Abhimanyu Golchha signed the agreement.

“Bajaj Pulsar, through Golchha Group, has been the main sponsor of the award for the past 17 years,” Adhikari said. “The new agreement for five years adds weight to our long-lasting friendship.”

According to Anjan Khadka, general secretary at the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF), this year’s awards will once again include ten categories: Male Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, Youth Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, People’s Choice Award, Para-athlete Award, Special Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Asian Sports Journalist Award, and Team of the Year.

“Nominations for the People’s Choice Award, which is decided by public voting, and nominees for the other four categories—year’s best male player, female player, youth player and coach—will be announced in the coming days,” Khadka added.

Winners in five key categories—Male, Female, Youth, Coach, and People’s Choice—will each receive a Pulsar motorcycle. The remaining honourees will be awarded cash prizes of Rs100,000 each.

Except for the Lifetime Achievement and Asian Sports Journalist awards, all other categories will feature athletes and coaches selected based on their performances and achievements during the Nepali calendar year 2081 (April 13, 2024, to April 13, 2025).

“We will be providing a total support of Rs4 million, which includes five motorcycles, for the 22nd edition. It is an increase of 33 percent compared to the previous year,” said Golchha. “This 17-year collaboration reflects the mutual trust and commitment between our two institutions. We plan to increase our support every year.”

Likewise, NSJF and Golchha Group expressed immense joy in taking the award to Pokhara, the tourism capital of Nepal.

“Pokhara is a location that demonstrates movement, youth and passion,” Golchha said. “In many ways, Pokhara has been pushing limits and breaking conventions just like Pulsar has always been.”

He also emphasised that Pulsar has been and will always strive to be at the forefront of events associated with sports, whether at the grassroots or national level.

As per Adhikari, who was elected the president on May 8, the NSJF had been planning to take the award outside Kathmandu for quite some time, and the organisation was proud to finally realise the dream.

“We approached several cities, but Pokhara Metropolitan City made the most sense this time,” Adhikari informed. “Pokhara, the tourism capital of Nepal, also wanted to add this event as part of the Pokhara Visit Year 2025.”