Nepal Olympic Committee Award honours athletes, coaches, association and journalists
Karateka Arika Gurung and wushu practitioner Bijaya Sinjali were adjudged the NOC Best Athlete in the female and male category, respectively. Recipients of the NOC Award 2026 pose with their trophies at the function in Thamel, Kathmandu, on Tuesday. Nayak Paudel/TKP
The Nepal Olympic Committee celebrated the Olympic Day, which is celebrated globally on June 23, honouring the best athletes, association and journalists at the fourth edition of the NOC Award in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
The Nepal Olympic Committee has been organising the NOC Award annually on Olympic Day.
The NOC handed over awards across ten categories in the fourth edition.
Of them, four were for athletes—Best Young Athlete (male and female), Best Athlete (male and female)—two for coaches (male and female), one for the best Association and three for journalists—Best Cameraperson, Best Online Journalist and Best Sports Journalist (writing).
Tennis player Shivali Gurung and boxer Nurbu Thendup Sherpa received the awards for the NOC Best Young Athlete in the female and male categories, respectively.
Among the senior athletes, karateka Arika Gurung, who has 11 gold and four silver medals internationally in less than three years, was adjudged as the NOC Best Athlete in the female category. Gurung had won the award in the previous edition as well.
Bijaya Sinjali, a wushu practitioner, received the NOC Best Athlete award in the male category. Sinjali had won a bronze medal at the 3rd Taolu World Cup last year.
Likewise, karate’s Kushal Shrestha and kabaddi’s Harina Thapa were acknowledged for their contributions and awarded as the best coaches in the male and female categories, respectively.
Similarly, Nepal Karate Federation was awarded as the Best Association.
Meanwhile, Ajay Phuyal, a former president of the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum and a senior sports journalist, was awarded with the Best Sports Journalist (writing). Phuyal is currently operating kheladi.com.
Sudarshan Ranjit, a veteran freelance sports photojournalist based in Pokhara, was honoured with the NOC Best Cameraperson award.
Sarita Shrestha, a senior sports journalist currently working at Hamrokhelkud.com, was feted with the NOC Best Online Journalist award.
The NOC also honoured the contributions of several other stakeholders with the President’s Recognition.
Presidential Recognition was provided to individuals—Ashok Ratna Bajracharya, Chaturananda Raj Vaidya, Geeta Rana, Surya Lal Bhandari and Laxmi Shrestha—and organisations—Nepal Ex-sportsmen Forum, Sharad Chandra Shah Memorial Foundation and Thunderbolts Sports Academy (GEMS School).
Nayak Paudel covers sports for The Kathmandu Post. He previously worked at the Post (2018–19) and spent over five years at The Rising Nepal. His reporting spans crime, health, education, and social issues.
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