Nepal’s karate team, including Erika Gurung, came within touching distance of three medals at the 20th Asian Games on Sunday, only to fall short. The unexpected results in karate have dented Nepal’s medal prospects at the Games in Japan.
At the Toyohashi Gymnasium in Nagoya, Erika reached the semifinals after winning one bout. But she lost in the semifinals and then in the repechage for the bronze medal. Min Bahadur Tamang and Rakesh Manandhar also fell in the semifinals.
Nepali karate community had expected a gold medal from Erika, who won silver at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, three years ago. But she ended up missing even the chance to win bronze. In the bronze-medal repechage, Erika lost 8–7 to Saudi Arabia’s Dina Ahmed Mustafa.
Erika took a 3–0 lead early on but could not hold on to it. Saudi Arabia’s Dina levelled the score by scoring three points from an ippon. Erika fought back with another ippon, but Dina kept her composure and scored late to secure victory.
Erika had earlier defeated Jordan’s Yara Nasser 7–1 in the quarterfinals. But she lost to Kazakhstan’s Sofia Brultseva in the semifinals. Erika led 1–0 in the over-68 kg category with 18 seconds remaining, but Sofia turned the bout around to win 2–1. Sofia scored the decisive second point with just two seconds remaining.
It was the third time Erika had lost to Sofia. Sofia had beaten Erika in the final of the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago and twice in the Premier League finals. Nepal karate coach Kushal Shrestha said Erika’s path had also become difficult because all three players who compete in the Premier League, the elite annual international competition series, had been drawn in the same group.
“From the standpoint of performance, I have nothing to say against my players,” Shrestha said. “They gave their best. Sometimes I feel luck also plays a role in sport. You need 99 percent hard work and 1 percent luck, but if you don’t even have that 1 percent luck, it can cost you.”
Shrestha added, “But from the players’ standpoint, I am happy. They performed well. I have no complaints.”
Manandhar also lost in the bronze-medal repechage in the under-55 kg category, going down 9–1 to Malaysia’s Kaliena Sundaram. Earlier, he had beaten Thailand’s Nattakrit Ingloy 9–0 to reach the semifinals. But he lost 7–0 to Uzbekistan’s Khalimov Khumoyunmirzo in the semifinals.
Tamang also lost his bronze-medal bout. In the under-60 kg category, he was beaten 2–0 by Saudi Arabia’s Albasher SAB in the repechage. Tamang had earlier defeated Hong Kong’s Kahim Chou 4–1 and Tajikistan’s Mirzozoda Mohammad 2–0 in the quarterfinals. But he lost 10–0 to Kuwait’s Abdullah Saban in the semifinals.
Nepal’s Sanu Maya Thing lost in her opening bout. She was beaten 5–0 by South Korea’s Choi Hae-hyun in the individual kata.
Vijay Sinjali, another medal hopeful in wushu, also had a disappointing performance. He finished 19th among 21 competitors in changquan.
Nepal won its women’s volleyball match. Already eliminated in the group stage, the Nepal women’s volleyball team defeated Kyrgyzstan in straight sets in a ranking match. Nepal won 25–20, 25–16, 25–20.
21.12°C Kathmandu
