Paragliding all but confirms Asiad medal

Nepali paragliding team members react after the fourth round of the Cross Country event.

Kathmandu, August 28

Nepal moved two spots up to second position after the penultimate round of the men’s Team Cross Country event of Paragliding at the Gunung Mas Puncak in West Java, Indonesia today.

The team of Bimal Adhikari, Bijay Gautam, Sushil Gurung, Yukesh Gurung and Bishal Thapa accumulated 2798 points in the fourth round to post the total score of 8591. Nepal are 768 points behind leaders Japan, and are 591 points ahead of third-placed South Korea.

Bishal Thapa was the top scorer for Nepal with 870 points, while skipper Bimal Adhikari earned 861 and Yukesh Gurung scored 802. Sushil Gurung earned 265, while Bijay Gautam came up with 172. Best four scores among five participants of the team are added in the team total.

Japan earned whopping 3298 points in the fourth round and jumped to the top of the 10-team standing. Japan — who were at the second position after the third round — accumulated 9359 points to take the lead.

South Korea maintained the third position with the total score of 8000 after they earned 2192 points, while overnight leader Indonesia faltered to fourth after they managed 1272 points for the total score of 7580. Malaysia are fifth with 4736 points. The event will conclude on Wednesday following the fifth and final round.

Nepal skipper Bimal Adhikari lauded his team’s performance and was excited to be in the second position. “It is a matter of pride for all of us. We played really well today and we are hoping for the favourable weather condition tomorrow,” said Adhikari. “We are excited about the game and really looking forward to give the good news to the Nepali people,” he added. “We will prepare our strategy after assessing the weather tomorrow morning and the team is praying for good favourable conditions,” said Adhikari.

Coach Yogesh Bhattarai said moving two positions up in the standing was a great achievement. “This is a proud moment for all of us and we are looking forward for the historic achievement. The medal is almost certain now, we cannot return empty-handed from this position. If the weather favours us tomorrow, we also have chance to win gold medal,” Bhattarai added.

In women’s section, Nepal maintained the sixth position with the total score of 1162 points. The team of Trisha Shrestha Bomjan Tamang, Prativa Bhujel and Sabita Tamang accumulated 216 points on the fourth day. South Korea, Japan and Indonesia are the top three teams after the fourth round. The participating teams will compete over five rounds in the 10-nation tournament.

Athletics

NSC Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista speaks to media about athlete Yam Sajan Sunar’s withdrawal.

Athlete Bishwarupa Budha produced the season best time in the women’s 5000m race at the GBK Main Stadium in Jakarta today.

She completed the race in 17 minutes and 24.78 seconds bettering her previous best timings of 18:00.01. Budha finished overall 13th in the 15-athlete field and also missed out on national record. Kanchhi Maya Koju holds the mark of 16:49.98 set during the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

Meanwhile, sprinter Yam Sajan Sunar withdrew from this morning’s 200m heats. Sunar, who competed in the 100m heats on Saturday, was scheduled to run in 200m heats but he complained of muscles pain last night and was permitted to pull out of the race.

“All of a sudden, Yam Sajan Sunar complained of pain in his muscles and wanted to withdraw from the 200m heats. After receiving a formal request in writing, we permitted him to pull and managed his air tickets to return home today,” said an official.

Marathon runners Krishna Basnet and Gopi Chadra Parki along with Som Bahadur Kumal, who set new national record in 800m race yesterday, accompanied Sunar to Nepal.

Chef-de-mission and National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista said he was not position to do anything. “What can I do if a player says I cannot compete? He did not inform about his pain to the medical team and wanted to withdraw from the race on his own. I am surprised with his behavior,” said Bista.

“I had watched him running in 100m and we had a chat afterwards. There was no sign of any problem. We have a doubt on him and we will investigate into the matter. We will take necessary action after talking with the medical team,” said Bista.

An official at the athletes’ village said the players lacked discipline. “Discipline is a serious issue in Nepali athletes. They do whatever they wish to do on their own and we cannot do anything about this,” he said in condition of anonymity.

Kurash

Nepal’s Upendra Thapa (right) fights with Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Buriev during their men’s 60kg event of Kurash at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Kurash made the disappointing debut in the Asian Games with both the players losing their matches on the first day. Upendra Thapa managed to advance to round of 16 in men’s below-66kg weight category with a 1-0 victory over Syed Samiullah of Pakistan in the first bout. But he faced a 10-0 defeat at the hands of Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Buriev in the next match. In women’s section, Bhagawati Majhi suffered a 10-0 defeat against Chiawen Tsou of Chinese Taipei in the round of 32 bout of Women below-52kg weight category.