Nepal’s rising women volleyball players were extra motivated on Saturday when they found out that the newly appointed Minister for Youth and Sports Bablu Gupta was arriving at their farewell function.

The Nepali U19 women’s volleyball team, which headed for the CAVA Championship in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday, was bid farewell by the Nepal Volleyball Association (NVA) in Kathmandu on Saturday, with Minister Gupta as the chief guest.

The Championship is taking place from November 4 to 9 between four teams—Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan and the Maldives—in a single round-robin format. On a points basis, the topper of the table will face the bottom team in the semifinal, while the second and third-placed teams will compete against each other for a spot in the final.

Nepal are facing Kyrgyzstan on the opening day, while the youngsters will compete against the hosts and the Maldives on November 5 and 6, respectively.

And with motivating words for the youngsters, Minister Gupta revealed a series of initiatives he had taken since assuming office on October 26.

Regarding volleyball, Minister Gupta informed that the ministry was looking for land to construct a well-equipped volleyball court at the heart of the country.

“Volleyball is our national game, but we don’t yet have a proper court for it,” the Gen Z minister said, adding, “We are looking for the possibilities of utilising the land used by Deepak Khadka’s company in Lazimpat.”

Nepal Scouts, in December last year, had disclosed that the company, Khadka Land Development Pvt Ltd, owned by the then Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka, owed over Rs51.9 million in rent for occupying its property in Lazimpat.

Meanwhile, NVA President Jitendra Bahadur Chand also requested Minister Gupta for increasing the budget for the national sport.

Similarly, Minister Gupta informed that a proposal was sent to the Ministry of Finance to make it mandatory for private companies to invest 1% of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandatorily in the Sports Fund under the National Sports Council.

“Currently, private companies cannot support the sports sector under their CSR due to the lack of legal provisions,” Minister Gupta continued, “The proposal sent to the Finance Ministry will be tabled at the upcoming Cabinet meeting.”

Likewise, the youngest minister in Nepal’s history is also tabling a proposal at the Cabinet to remove the provision of levying 25 percent of tax cut in the cash awards provided to the athletes.

“The ministry will also be collecting the internal revenues from sports centres, such as the swimming complex in Satdobato, and utilise it for the athletes,” he said. “A portal will also be created for the athletes—at the municipal, district, provincial and central levels—to keep their profiles visible for all. ID cards will also be provided to them.”

As per Minister Gupta, the profiles of the athletes will also contain their bank accounts. “Nepali sports fans, who want to support their favourite athletes financially, could then send the amount directly to the players.”

He also informed that the process to lift the suspension on Nepal’s home of football—Dasharath Stadium—was another priority. “I have discussed the areas we need to work on to remove the suspension at the earliest, and the government will provide every support for it,” he added.

Nonetheless, visiting the under-construction TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur after the farewell function, Minister Gupta requested the Cricket Association of Nepal to make the second season of the Nepal Premier League a grand success.

Inquiring about the recent developments regarding the installation of floodlights, Minister Gupta also pledged every necessary support for the tournament’s success.